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1783 



THE CENTENNIAL 



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INCORPORATION 



1883 







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THE CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 



PREFACE. 

The preparation of an Address to be delivered on the One Hundredth An- 
niversary of the incorporation of the City of Charleston, 13th of August, 
1883, was undertaken, at short notice, with a desire to use the occasion in 
directing public attention to the need of a connected and complete history 
of the city from the time of its settlement. The leisure which I could com- 
maud, in the face of my public and commercial engagements, was necessa- 
rily limited, and I speedily realized that I could not hope to do more than 
present in the Address a few of the many interesting matters connected with 
Charleston's foundation, rise and progress. The impressions derived from 
desultory reading during a number of years were confirmed by the closer 
examination which was undertaken for the purposes of the Centennial Ad- 
dress, and I risk nothing in saying that, in the history of the people who 
lived and live within the territory that may be seen from the belfry of St. 
Michael's Church, there is material for as interesting a chapter as can be 
found anywhere in American annals. 

A part of the Centennial Address was published in The News and 
CouRiEK, and the favorable comments at the time, and the suggestion that 
it be amplified for publication in permanent form, induced me to undertake 
the labor of making it as full and thorough as my opportunities would per- 
mit. In its present extended shape the sketch of the history of Charleston 
is no longer a simple Centennial Address, and will be found to contain much 
that is entirely new, or has not heretofore been accessible to the general 
reader. Forming part of the Year Book for 1883, it will, I hope, find a place 
in public libraries throughout the United States, and be welcome in the 
homes of our people. If it shall elicit such interest as shall lead to the real- 
ization of my life-long hope and desire for a complete history of Charleston, 
I shall be amply compensated for the labor and thought I have bestowed 
upon the introductory work. 

It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge the courteous attentions of 
the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, War and Navy, and of the Postmaster- 
General and the Attorney-General of the United States, who have sent me 
from the departments at Wa.shington valuable documents which I required, 
and who, in several cases, have given me even, more information than I 
asked for or expected to obtain. Similar assistance has been rendered by 
Gen. Eaton, Superintendent of Education, and Mr. Dwight, the Librarian of 
the State Department. From the Hon. J. N. Lipscomb, Secretary of Stale of 
South Carolina; Col. Sloan, Clerk of the House of Representatives of South 
Carolina; Mr. Speaker Simons; Hon. Ch. Richardson Miles; Commander 



iv Preface. 

Merrill Miller, U. S. N., Light-House Department ; Langdon Cheves, Esq. ; 
Gen. W. G. DeSaussure; J. P. K. Bryan, Esq.; Hon. T. W. Glover and 
John Lucas, Esq., Orangeburg, S. C. ; Eev. John Johnson ; Col. W. L. Tren- 
holm; J. L. Sheppard, Esq. ; Daniel Heyward, Esq. ; Dr. G. E. Manigault; 
Mr. Winsor, Librarian of Harvard College ; Mr. Jervey, Librarian Charleston 
Library Society; F. Peyre Porcher, M. D. ; Major Willis; Eev. C. C. Pinck- 
ney ; N. Levin, Esq. ; Eev. D. J. Quigley ; W. G. Hinson, Esq. ; J. Barrett 
Cohen, Esq. ; H. B. Horlbeck, M. D. ; Professor F. A. Porcher ; Jos. T. Dill, 
Esq., and many others, I am indebted for the use of rare books, and for 
valuable papers placed at my disposal. 

Strange as the statement may seem, the fact is so, that eighteen years 
after the close of the war between the States, there is no correct official infor- 
mation of the Companies in the service from Charleston, and their numbers. 
To Gen. Edward McCrady, who has for years been interested in making a 
record, and to Major E. C. Gilchrist and Eev. C. E. Chichester, I am indebt- 
ed for tlie statement herein made. 

It is a pleasure to acknowledge here the courteous and continnous atten- 
tions of Mr. W. Noel Sainsbury, of the Public Eecord Office, London, to 
whom I am greatly indebted. 

For much intelligent and laborious clerical assistance I am under obliga- 
tions to my young friend Mr. Normand M. Porter. 

W. A. C, 



Charleston, S. C, January, 1884. 



TlIK NKVVS AND COURIER BOOK PRESSES, 
19 Bkoau Street, Charleston, S. C. 



INDEX 



The Centennial of Incorporation — Page. 

Initiatory Proceedings g 

Selection of Orator and Poet lo 

Acceptance of Mayor Courtenay 1 1 

Correspondence with Mr. Ilayne 13 

Letter of Rev. John Johnson '. 14 

Mr. Valentine invited to visit Charleston 14 

Centennial Salute of One H mdred Guns 14 

Officers of .State and other guests 15 

The Prayer by Chaplain Johnson 16 

Opening Address of Alderman Thayer 17 

The Mural Tablet 18 

The Bust of Hayne 19 

Lines upon its Unveiling 20 

The Portrait of Wm. Enston 20 

Presentation of Bust of J. L. Petigru 21 

The Centennial Ode 23 

The Centennial of Charleston — Hayne and Petigru — from 

The News and Courier 26 

Evening Exhibition — The Pyrotechnics 28 

Charleston — 1670-1783-1S83— 

The First Settlement 34 

The First Lord Proprietor 35 

The Second Lords Proprietors 36 

Hilton's Voyaje — 1663 38 

Sandford's Voyage — 1665 40 

The Embarkation of August, 1669 46 

Names of the First Colonists 47 

The Vessels arrive at Kingsayle, Ireland 49 

Arrival at Barbadoes 49 

Sailed thence 26th February, 1670 51 

The Cassique of Kiawah 52 

The First Election in Carolina 52 

The Want of a Clergyman 55 

The First Attempt at a Parliament 56 

Death of Gov. Sayle 57 

Population and its Sources — 

English and Irish, the First Settlers 58 

The First German in Carolina. 59 

Settlers from Barbadoes 59 



vi Index. 

Population and its Sources — Page. 

Population in 1670 60 

Several Families Arrive from England 60 

The First Dutch Settler> 60 

The First Negro Slaves, 1672 61 

The Oyster Point Settlement 61 

Arrivals from Ireland 61 

Arrivals of French Refugees 62 

Four Huguenot Settlements in 1785 63 

Lord Cardross' Scotch Colony 63 

The Quakers or Friends 64 

The Quaker Lot 65 

The Population in 1685 66 

The Settlers at Dorchester 67 

Growth of New Town 67 

Settlers from the Palatinate 68 

Settlers from Nova Scotia • 68 

The First Jewish Families 6g 

The Irish Settlers — 1784-1809 70 

The First Mass in Charleston 70 

" St. Mary's " the First Catholic Church ... 71 

The First Roman Catholic Bishop 72 

The St. Domingo Refugees 72 

Earliest Benevolent Societies 73 

Population — 1790-1880 74 

Early Crops and Commerce — 

The Potatoe, Maize and Tobacco • 74 

Turpentine, Tar, Rosin, &c 75 

Skins and Furs Exported 76 

The Culture of Rice . 76 

First Machine for Husking Rice 77 

Gov. Smith's Rice Planting 77 

The Remarkable Results in Rice. 78 

Planting the River Swamps 79 

Indigo Growing in 1680 80 

Miss Lucas Cultivates it and Prepares it for Market — 1742. . 81 

Indigo a very Profitable Crop 84 

The First Col ton Goods 85 

The Silk Industry — 1699-1840 85 

Ante-Revolutionary Period — 

Charleston a Prosperous Town, 1731 87 

Statistics of Population, 1731 88 

Quantity of British Shipping, 1731 . 88 

Articles of Export, 1731 88 

The Cheapness of Provisions, 1731 89 

Josiah Quincy's Views, 1773 Sg 



Index. vii 

Ante-Revolutionary Period — Page. 

Wm. Gerard de Brahm's Views Sg 

His Mention of Exports 90 

The Increase of Cattle 91 

The Stamp Act of 1765 91 

Fac-simile of a British Stamp 92 

The Capture of Fort Johnson '. 92 

The People Refuse to Drink Tea— 1774 93 

Supplies Sent to Boston^ 93 

Sacrifice of Material Interests in Charleston — Trade Flour- 
ishing in Boston 94 

A Sunday Meeting at St. Michael's Church 94 

Receipt of the News from Lexington 94 

Gov. Campbell goes aboard the " Tamer " 94 

Roll of Provincial and Royal Governors 95 

The First Hostile Shots Fired 95 

A New Council of Safety Elected 95 

The First Republic in the New World Founded at Charles- 
ton 96 

Battle of Fort Sullivan 96 

Close of Revolutionary War — 

Evacuation of Charleston 97 

Embarkation of Whites and Slaves 97 

Moultrie's and Horry's accounts of Re-occupation of Charles- 
ton 98 

Posi Revolutionary Period — 

The Opening of a New Century 99 

Wm. Hutson— First Intendant 100 

Commercial History — 

Re-establishment of the Chamber of Commerce, February, 

1784 loi 

Autographs of the Founders 102 

Vessels Sailing Outward, 1784 102 

Vessels Sailing Outward, 1882 103 

Upland Cotton in India 103 

Upland Cotton in Central America 104 

Upland Cotton in Mexico 104 

Upland Cotton in West Indies 105 

Upland Cotton in North America 106 

Sources of England's supply — 1781-89 106 

Early Exports from Charleston 107 

Prices of Cotton— 1790-1801 108 

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin 109 

South Carolina pays $50,000 for its use 109 

Annual Cotton Products, 1SS3, $200,000,000 no 

Exports in 1791 no 



viii Index. 

Commercial History — Page. 

Exports in 1S82 Iio 

Long Staple Sea Island Cotton ill 

The First Crops iii 

Utter Ruin of the Sea Islands — 1861-65 112 

Statistics — 1805-1882 113 

The Tobacco Crop J14 

Lucas' Rice Mills — 

The First Mill Built 1787 116 

The First City Mills 117 

The Export of Paddy 118 

The Largest Rice Crops 118 

Co.N]MERCIAL CHANGES — 

Great Prosperity — 1 790-1 807 Iig 

Non-Intercourse Acts 1 19 

The Embargo — Ruin of the Times iig 

Steam Navigation 120 

The Wonderful Changes by it 121 

Improvements in the Marine Engine 121 

Iron Hulls for Steamers 122 

Phosphate Mining and Manufactures 123 

Progress of Railroads — 

Stevenson's Early Locomotive 124 

The South Carolina Railroad — 1830 125 

The Second Period Locomotive 125 

The Third Period Locomotive 125 

Freight Cans — Passenger Coaches 126 

Railroad Tracks 127 

Steel Rails 128 

Bridges — Running Trains 129 

Standard Time 131 

The Modern Railway and Marine Engine 132 

The late M. F. Maury's Advice 133 

The Post Office — 

Early Postal Charges 134 

Charleston Post Office Receipts — 1783-18S2 135 

The Health of Charleston— 

Comparative Mortality — 1830-80 136 

Colored Mortality Compared 137 

New Dispensary Service and Free Medicines 137 

Fe6eral Officials in Charleston — 1 783-1 882 — 

Judges United States District Court 138 

Attorneys United States District Court 138 

Collectors of Customs 139 

Postmasters 139 

Assistant Treasurers 140 



Index. ix 

TOPOGRArHY OF CHARLESTON — Page. 

Description of Old Town 140 

Early Lot Owners 141 

Social and Industrial Features 142 

Oyster Point, or New Town, Settled 143 

Original Boundaries of New Town I44 

Dr. Ramsay's Description of Charleston 145 

Boundary Street the Northern Limit 147 

Wards of the City— 17S3 148 

The First Wardens Elected 149 

Wards of the City — 1S09 149 

The Wardens Elected— iSio 150 

The Mayor and Aldermen Elected — 1836 150 

The Wards of the City— 1849 151 

The Mayor and Aldermen Elected— 1850 151 

The Wards of the City— 1883 151 

The Harbor — Lrs Forts— Lights — jETTiiis — 

Harbor Fifteen Miles Square 153 

Fort Johnson — 1704-1S83 153 

Fort Moultrie — 1776-1883 159 

Castle Pinckney — 1794-1883 162 

Fort Sumter — 1S27-1883 164 

Roster of Officers Commanding Forts Johnson, Moultrie, 

Sumter and Pinckney — 1860-65 168 

Port and Harbor Lights — 1673-1883 170 

Present Lights in the Harbor 173 

Jetties — the First on Sullivan's Island — Captain A. H. Bow- 
man's Report 174 

Changes in Shore Line, Sullivan's Island 175 

The Prevailing Winds 176 

Changes in Shore Line Morris Island 179 

General Gilmore's Jetties 179 

Hog Island Channel Widening iBl 

Pumpkin Hill Channel— 18S3 182 

Harbor Appropriations — 1852-82 183 

Noted Events in the Century — 

Washington's Visit — 1791 184 

Citizen Genet's Visit — 1792 T90 

Sloop-of-War " John Adams '' — 1798 191 

The Embargo and War — 1812-15 192 

Monroe's Visit — 18 19 194 

Lafayette's Visit — 1825 196 

Nullification — 1832 I98 

The Palmetto Regiment — 1846 202 

Origin of Charleston Company. ... 20i 

Roll of Charleston Company 203 

a2 



X Index. 

Noted Events in the Century — Page. 

Calhoun's Funeral 205 

Honorary Guard over Remains 206 

Slavery in Province, Colony anh State — 

Treachery to the Indians — 1520 208 

Killing Old Indians Unavailable for Slaves — 1 712-16 209 

The Dutch Land Slaves in Virginia 209 

The Gain to England of Slave Trading 210 

The Crown Refuses to Stop the Trade 210 

Custom House Tariff on Slaves — 1775 ■ ... 210 

Association of 1774 Votes to Discontinue the Slave Trade.. . 21 1 

The Council of Safety, 1776, Forbids it 211 

Legislative History on this Subject 211 

Horrid Diseases Imported with Slaves 215 

Slave Traders — Old and New Englanders 2i6 

Governor Grisvvold, of Connecticut, Defends the Slave Trade, 216 

Jonathan Edwards a Slave Owner 216 

Incorporated into the Constitution of the United States by 

North and South 217 

Slavery not Abolished in Connecticut until 1S48 218 

President Lincoln's Views in 1861, 218 

Senator Sumner's Views in 1S61 218 

Resolutions of Congress, July, 1861 218 

Slavery Exists in Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware until 

1866... 218 

The Last Half Century of Slavery 218 

Compromise Measures and their Repeal — 

Senator Clay's Compromise — 1850 222 

Ninety-five Per Cent, of the Voters in 1852 Endorse the 

Settlement of 1850 222 

The Repeal of the Compromise Acts 222 

Armed Settlement of Kansas 223 

John Brown's Raid — 1859. ." 223 

Lincoln's Election — Secession 223 

Troops Furnished by the City of Charlesion — 

Militia in Service November, i860 — April, 1861 224 

Volunteer Companies in the Fire Department 225 

Troops For the War 225 

For^y-three Companies from Charleston 226 

South Carolina's War Records 229 

Charle-ston's Home Defence — 

An Iron-Clad Battery in 1861 230 

Armored Vessels'of War 231 

Mr. Eason builds Two Iron-Clads 231 

The State Marine Battery Commissioners Thank Mr. Eason 

for his Services 233 



Index. xi 

Charleston's Home Defence — Page. 

Rifled Cannon and Projectiles 234 

C. K. Piioleau's Rifle Cannon 234 

The First Workmen to Rifle Cannon 235 

Submarine Torpedoes 235 

F. D. Lee, Dr. St. Julien Ravenel and Tiieo. Stoney Develop 

these New Weapons 237 

Attempts to Destroy the " Ironsides " . . 237 

Destruction of the " Housatonic" 237 

Blockade Running — 

The First Outward and Inward Cargo 23S 

List of Blockade Steamers 238 

List of Blockade Sailing Vessels 240 

Exploit of Capt. E. C, Reid 241 

The " Margaret and Jessie," Capt. Lockwood 241 

The " Hattie," Capt. Lebhy 242 

Flush Times in Nassau and Charleston 243 

Prices of Blockade Goods— 1863 244 

The Post Bellum Period— 

The End of the War — Bayonet Rule 245 

Emancipation — Reconstruction 245 

The Illegal Overthrow of a Civilized State 246 

A Civil Government Administered by Soldiers 247 

Disfranchisement by Means of an Oath 247 

Ignorance and Corruption Overthrown — 1876 . 248 

Charleston's Welcome to Hampton — 1877 249 

Conclusion — 

" Battery Wagner," July to September, 1863 253 

Proceedings of the City Council- Resolutions of Thanks— 

To Rev. John Johnson, Chaplain 254 

To Middleton Michel, M. D 254 

To Paul H. Hayne, Poet 254 

To A. Loudon Snowden, Esq 255 

To Mrs. Mary M. Hutson 255 

To Capt. F. W. Wagener 255 

To Capt. B. Mantoue 255 

To Hon. Wm. A. Courtenay 255 

Acknowledgments of the Mayor 256 

Letters — 

From P. H. Hayne , 257 

From A. L. Snowden 258 

The Centennial Medai 258 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



^i. 



Page. 
A Map of Charleston, 27x27, showing Old Town and the 
Early Farms on the West 13 ink of the Ashley ; the Present Site 
of the City, up to near the Clements' Ferry Road, with all Lines 
of Fortifications and Historic Points. (Frontispiece.) 

/ 11. The Geeat Seal of the Second Lords Proprietors op 

Carolina, to which are attached their Autographs in Fac- 
simile 37 

»/ in. Fac-simile of an Old Map of Carolina, showing the Set- 
tlements on the Cooper and Ashley (previous to 1 700) 57 

^ IV. Fac-sibiile of a British Stamp — Under the Act of 1765.. . 92 

/ V. Fac-simile of an Old Map, giving the British account of the 

Battle of Fort Sullivan 28th June, 1776 — List of Casualties, &c. 96 

>^VI. Fac-simile of the Autographs of the Seventy Early 

Members of the Charleston Chamber ofCombierce. 102 
^ VII. Fac-simile of a Bill of Lading of the Last Century, 

with Curious Phraseology 119 

; w J J 

v) VIII. Plats A, B, C, showing Locations of Fort Johnson — 1704-1865. 153 

■i IX. Plats D, E, showing Locations of Fort Moultrie— 1 776 -1865. . . 159 

y" X. Plats F, G, showing Location of Castle Pinckney — 1794. 162 

J XI. Plat H, showing Shape and Area of Fort Sumter — 1828 164 

J XII. Fac-simile of Eelics Found in the Corner Stone of 

the Old Light-House, built in 1767 — George III, Rex 172 



THE CENTENNIAL OF INCORPORATION. 



INITIATORY PROCEEDINGS. 



At the regular meeting of the City Council, held on April 
lOth, 1883, Alderman Dingle offered the following: 

In view of the approaching Centennial of the Incorporation of the City of 
Charleston, on the 13th of August next, 

Resolved, That a Committee of five Aldermen be appointed by the Mayor to 
consider and report to the City Council the most appropriate manner of cele- 
brating said Centennial. 

Alderman Aichel moved that the Mayor be added to the 
Committee. This amendment being accepted, the resolu- 
tion was then adopted. 

Aldermen Dingle, Thayer, Ufferhardt, Sweegan and John- 
son were appointed as the Committee. 

At the regular meeting of the City Council, held on the 
evening of April 24th, 1883, the special Committee of Coun- 
cil appointed to recommend the most appropriate way of 
celebrating, on the 13th of August next, the Centennial of 
the Incorporation of the City of Charleston, reported as 
follows : 

The Committee recommend : 

1st. That a Centennial Address be delivered in honor of the occasion. 
2d. That on that day the marble bust of the late Hon. Robert Y. Hayne 
and the mural tablet ordered by Council be unveiled. 

3d. That a bronze medal be struck, the obverse of which shall present the 
full seal of the City of Charleston, with appropriate commemorative inscription 
on the reverse. 

4th. That the celebration be closed in the evening with a display of fire- 
works. 

Respectfully submitted, 
! G. W. DINGLE. 

E. F. SWEEGAN. 
A. JOHNSON. 
WILLIAM THAYER. 
WM. UFFERHARDT. 
Adopted. WM. A. COURTENAY, Mayor. 

2 



lO The Centennial of Incorporation. 

At the regular meeting on May 8th, "The Committee on 
the Centennial " asked leave to report : 

■ That they have considered the matter, and suggest that his Honor the Mayor 
be requested to deliver the Centennial Address on August 13th, 1883, recom- 
mended in our first report. That our distinguished townsman and poet, Paul 
H. Hayne, be requested to write the Centennial Ode. 

The Committee ask for further time to report on the further details of the 

celebration. 

G. W. DINGLE. 

WILLIAM THAYER. 

E. F. SWEEGAN. 

WM. UFFERHARDT. 

A. JOHNSON. 

Which was unanimously adopted. 

The Mayor said : 

Gentlemen of the City Council — The action of the City 
Council in arranging for the observance of the 13th of 
Augu.st, the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation 
of Charleston as a city, has my hearty concurrence. The 
occasion in itself is worthy of commemoration, for Charleston 
on that day will mark off her first century of municipal life. 
But it shouUl not be forgotten that there are one hundred and 
thirteen years of history previous to 1 783, and so it would be 
most appropriate to take advantage of these approaching 
Centennial ceremonies to direct public attention to a subject 
whicli should be of primary interest to every home in 
Charleston. Seven generations have lived on this historic 
peninsular, and as yet no connected narrative has been 
written for the information of the community. Twenty-five 
years ago that noble citizen, the late James L. Petigru, in 
his address before the South Carolina Historical Society, 
said with a manner and tone of voice expressive of regret 
and never to be forgotten by those who heard him : 

" It is a very general complaint that our people are care- 
less of records. The materials of history are treated very 
much like the noble forest, not to be surpassed in beauty, 
with which Carolina was once covered. It is delivered, 
without mercy, to the havoc of the axe or the ravages of 



Initiatory Proceedings. 1 1 

the devouring flame. The supply is supposed to be inex- 
haustible, and the process goes on until the recklessness of 
waste is checked by the alarm of approaching scarcity. We 
would interpose to protect the remnant of that noble forest 
which is threatened with extermination. We would be 
happy to lend our aid in preserving the memory of things 
remarkable or interesting, in our country, which are begin- 
ning to lose their hold on living memory. The labors, the 
trials, and dangers that have proved the endurance, or ex- 
ercised the virtue of our countrymen, are in our eyes of 
sufficient interest to be preserved from neglect. We would 
inscribe with a name the battlefields of Indian and British 
hostility ; and zvoiild fain prevent the soil that has been luatercd 
with blood poured out in behalf of the Commonwealth, from 
being confounded with common earth .^ " * * * * * 

By the action of our Historical Society in the years just 
preceding the war between the States, much valuable in- 
formation was collected, and the knowledge obtained where 
the most complete and authentic material was accessible 
for our Colonial History. Since i860 an additional volume 
of glowing history has been enacted, but it, too, is yet un- 
written. Another generation of boys and girls are growing 
up to manhood and womanhood in this historic city as 
ignorant of the story of its eventful life as their fathers and 
mothers, their grandfathers and grandmothers before them. 
I have had the thought for many years that on some appro- 
priate occasion I would make the effort at least to direct 
the attention of our citizens to that most desirable acquisi- 
tion, a complete history of our city. 

Quoting further from Mr. Petigru's address : "Perhaps 
the opinion is tinged with partiality, yet, after making due 
allowance for such bias," I think I may say that in the circle 
of vision from the belfry of St. Michael's there has been as 
much high thought spoken, as much heroic action taken, as 
much patient endurance borne as in any equal area of land 
and sea on this continent. Shall more than two centuries 
of such achievement remain longer in disjointed and con- 
fused records and traditions? There can be but one answer 



12 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

from every intelligent citizen, and that is that this desirable 
work should be undertaken at the earliest date. The ex- 
tent of it is now so great, by long neglect, that private en- 
terprise will not undertake it. The collection of data, the 
selection of material, &c., will now of necessity have to be 
done by the city. It will be trifling in outlay if done in 
small annual appropriations. This will largely reduce the 
cost to the citizens, and insure to all who desire to have 
copies, a reliable historic work at a moderate price. It will 
be money well spent ; such a work projected on a broad 
basis would have a sale all over the Union, for much of 
Charleston's early history is the history of the Colony of 
Carolina. In accepting the appointment to address you on 
Centennial day in August, I do so in the hope that, by pre- 
senting the outline and some incidents of that history, I 
may be able to elicit a general public interest in this essen- 
tial work ; and the present City Council, in my opinion, 
could now give no better evidence of their public spirit and 
their appreciation of the historic past of Charleston than to 
initiate this good work by a moderate appropriation, and 
the selection of a committee of citizens who would direct its 
proper expenditure to the accomplishment of this great re- 
sult in the near future. I leave this subject with you for 
your consideration and future action, only remarking in con- 
clusion that, when our people are able to read the grand 
history of Charleston, it must result in their having a higher 
appreciation of their home, for no city, ancient or modern, 
affords examples more fitted to elicit ennobling emotions. 

Alderman Thayer introduced the following resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, That the address of the Mayor accepting the appointment of orator 
for the Centennial celebration in August next be spread upon the journal. 

Resolved, That so much as relates to an appropriation for collecting material 
for a history of Charleston be referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. 

At the regular meeting of the City Council on May 22d, 
the following correspondence was read and ordered to be 
published with the proceedings : 



Initiatory Proceedings. 13 

City of Charleston, Executive DErARTMENT, ) 

May 9th, 18S3. \ 
Paul H. Hayne, Esq. : 

My Dear Sir — As you are doubtless aware the one liundredth anniversary 
of the incorporation of the City of Charleston occurs on the 13th of August 
proximo, and the City Administration has taken measures to celebrate the 
occasion with appropriate ceremonies. 

At a meeting of tlie City Council held last evening, the committee of arrange- 
ments sul)mitted tlie following report, which was unanimously adojjted : 

" The Committee on the Contennial beg leave to report that they have con- 
sidered the matter, and suggest that his Honor the Mayor be requested to de- 
liver the Centennial Address, 13th August, 1883, recommended in our fnsl 
report; that our distinguished townsman and ]5oet, l^aul II. Hayne, be re- 
quested to write the Centennial Ode. 

The committee ask for further lime tf) re]iort on the further details of the 
occasion. G. W. DINGLE. 

A. JOHNSON. 

WILLIAM THAYER. 

E. F. SWEEGAN. 

WM. UFFERIIARDT." 

It now becomes my duty and great pleasure to convey the .same to you, trust- 
ing it may not be incompatible with your time and engagements to comply with 
the request made. 

In thus levying upon you for an offering to this interesting occasion, it is 
tit we should call on one regarded as " our own " — one though 'mid time's muta- 
tion is not now with us, but of us, and still held in high regard as a favored son 
of the " Old City by the Sea," whose Centennial could not be more honoied 
than by his graceful pen. I hope that at an early date I shall have the gratifi- 
cation of conveying to the City Council your affirmative resjionse to the request. 
With assurance of high regard and esteem, I am, my dear sir. 

Yours, very respectfully, 
Attest: WILLIAM THAYER, 

W. W. Simons, Mayor pro tern. 

Clerk of Cotwcil. 

Charleston, S. C, May 12th, 1883. 

To Hon. William Thayer^ Mayor pro (evi. : 

My Dear Sir — I received your communication of the gth instant, on behalf 
of the City Administration of Charleston, together with the report of your Cen- 
tennial Committee, in which I am re(]uested to compose a Centennial Ode for 
the r3th of August, 1883. 

It will afford me great pleasure to comply with your request. 

Most respectfully, 

PAUL H. HAYNE. 



14 TJie Centennial of Incorpo7'ation. 

Rectory St. Phiijp's Parish, ) 

Charleston, S. C, July 3r, 1883. \ 

Mr. G. W. Dingle, Cliairnian Cenlcnnial Com mil tec : 

Dear Sir. — Your letter of 25lh inst., inviting me to officiate as Chaplain on 
the Centennial Day, 13th August next, has been duly rejeived. Your jiartial- 
ity is gratifying to me as the representative of this historical Parish of our city, 
and I can only reply with acceptance of the Committee's invitation. 
With sentiments of esteem towards yourself and the Committee, 
I remain your obedient servant, 

JNO. JOHNSON. 

At the regular meeting of the City Council held on the 
evening of August 2d. 1883, Alderman Dingle, with appro- 
priate remarks, ofifered the following, which was unanimously 
adopted : 

On receipt of the marble bust of the Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, executed by 
Mr. E. V. Valentine, sculptor, of Virginia, 

Resolved by the City Council of Chm'lcston, That the City Council, highly 
appreciating the chaste and elegant manner in which this bust has been finished, 
congratulate the distinguished sculptor on the eminently successful completion 
of his work. 

Resolved, That his Honor the Mayor be requested to extend to Mr. Valen- 
tine an invitation to be present as the guest of the city on the unveiling of the 
bust at the approaching Centennial. 

Council then adjourned. W. W. SIMONS, 

Clerk of Council. 



PUBLIC OBSERVANCE OF THE DAY. 

" The public observance of the Centennial of Incorpora- 
tion of the City of Charleston took place on Monday, August 
13th, 1883. The day dawned clear and bright, and was 
ushered in by the chimes of St. Michael's and a Centennial 
salute of one hundred guns, fired from Marion Square, by 
the German Artillery, Captain F. W. Wagener, and the 
Lafayette Artillery, Lieutenant C. VV. Stiles. The early 
morning trains brought a large number of visitors from the 



Public Observance of the Day. t 5 

country, and the display of bunting was general on all the 
business streets and among the shipping in the harbor. 

This anniversary happening at the warmest season of the 
year, and being entirely a civic occasion, it was deemed best 
not to have a military parade or out-door celebration during 
the heat of the day. The ceremonies were, therefore, ap- 
pointed at the Council Chamber, City Hall, on account of 
the proposed unveiling of pictures and statuary which were 
in future to adorn this apartment. The committee of arrange- 
ments, of which Alderman Dingle was the Chairman, did 
all that ingenuity could suggest to utilize the capacity of 
the Chamber and the adjoining apartments to the best pos- 
sible advantage. The desks and aldermanic chairs were all 
removed and sever.d hundred chairs placed in all the avail- 
able spaces. 

By half-past four o'clock the guests of the occasion and 
the citizens generally began to assemble, and by the hour 
fixed for opening the ceremonies the Chamber, galleries and 
the Maycjr's and Clerk's rooms were well filled. Every pre- 
caution had been taken to secure perfect ventilation, and 
the pleasant South wind which swept through the rooms 
kept the air delightfully cool and pleasant during the pro- 
ceedings. 

The officers of State and other invited guests having 
assembled in the Executive ofifice, at five o'clock Mayor 
Courtenay entered the Chamber escorting his Excellency 
Hugh S. Thompson, Governor of South Carolina ; Alder- 
man Thayer followed with Lieutenant-Governor John C. 
Sheppard ; Alderman Dingle with the Honorable James 
Simons, Speaker of the House; Alderman Rose with Rev. 
John Johnson, Rector of St. Philip's, as Chaplain of the 
day; Alderman Ufferhardt with the Sculptor, Valentine, of 
Virginia ; Alderman Barkley with the Artist, StoUe, of Dres- 
den — the first having executed the bust of Hayne and the 
last the portrait of VVm. Enston, the unveiling of which 
were included in the interesting programme of the after- 
noon. Then followed the other members of Council with 
the following guests: Attorney-General C R. Miles, ex- 



1 6 TJie Centennial of Incoj-poration. 

Mayors P. C. Gaillarcl and G. I. Cunningham, Recorder 
Pringle, General Ed. McCrady, General C. I. Walker, Colo- 
nel W. L. Trenholm, Senator G. L. Buist, Representatives 
C. J. C. Hutson, a grandnephew of the first Intendant, 
Charles Inglesby, J. F. Britton, John Gonzalez, M. F. Ken- 
nedy, ex-Alderman Bernard O'Neill, and many others, who 
occupied seats on the platform." 

Alderman William Thayer, acting as Mayor for the occa- 
sion, opened the ceremonies by introducing the Chaplain 
of the day, the Rev. John Johnson, Rector of St. Philip's 
Parish, who offered the following impressive prayer: 

O Lord, our Heavenly Father, the high and mighty Ruler of the Universe, 
who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth, we humbly be- 
seech Thee to behold with Thy favor this assembly of our people. Our elders 
and our youth are gathered together to tell how our fathers came out from the 
Old World into the New ; how they declared unto us the noble works that 
Thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them. And, now, we 
praise Thy Name, O God, for that upon this broad land, from ocean to ocean, 
the Sun of Righteousness hath arisen with healing in his wings, and the pure 
offering of a great people's worship goeth up continually to be accepted in Thy 
beloved Son. 

On this memorial day, do Thou, O Lord, draw nigh to us as we draw nigh 
to Thee. Remember us in mercy, not in wrath, hide not Thy face from this 
city for all the evil that it hath done, but save our people from the reproach of 
sin. May it please Thee henceforth to bless our rulers and magistrates, giving 
them grace lo execute justice and to maintain truth. May it please Thee to 
give our citizens an heart to love and fear Thee, and diligently to live after Thy 
commandments. Bless our institutions of learning, charity and medical reliel ; 
raise up friends to endow them, and make us all rea ly to sustain them. Pros- 
' per us now according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years 
wherein we have seen evil. 

Finally, make us to remember that wiiile Thou art the same, and Thy years 
shall not fall, we are but sojourners here upon earth, as all our fathers were. 
They hoped in Thee, they trusted in Thee, and Thou didst deliver them. Be 
Thou with us, as Thou wast with them, our Ruler and Guide, through the pil- 
grimage of earth to the rest of Heaven; through the wilderness of this world to 
the shining and Eternal City, whose builder and maker is (.lod. Grant these 
our petitions, for the worthiness of Him who ever liveth to make intercession 
for us, Thy Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Acting Mayor Thayer then said : 

Gentlemen of the City Council, Ladies and Gentlemen — We 
close to-day our first one hundred years of corporate city 
life. In commemoration thereof there has been erected in 
our Council Chamber a beautiful mural tablet inscribed 
with the date of settlement, 1670, the date of inco'-poration, 
1783, and a roll of the Intendants and Mayors who have 
occuoied the Executive office during the century just past. 



Public Observance of the Day. 17 

It is a complete record; even the military Mayors of 1868, 
for the truth of history, are inscribed thereon. 

And not this alone. The long deferred obligation of a 
worthy memorial to our great townsman, Robert Y. Haync, 
is this day consummated in the imposing marble bust by 
Valentine, of Virginia, while the features of our great pub- 
lic benefactor, William Enston (preserved to us in an oil 
portrait of great merit by the artist Stolle), as also those of 
our city's first Intcndant, Hon. Richard Hutson (in a por- 
trait hallowed by age), adorn our walls and grace the occa- 
sion. '1 hese works of sculptor and artist will now be un- 
veiled. Numismatic art also makes its beautiful offering in 
memorial bronze, which will transmit to posterity the record 
of the event we this day celebrate. 

Poesy, too, adds her tribute in the beautiful commemora- 
tive ode, which will be read in your hearing, from the grace- 
ful pen of our own townsman and poet, Paul H. Hayne, Esq., 
and our laborious and efficient Mayor will address you on 
the history of "The Old City by the Sea." 

This, in outline, fellow-citizens, is the programme for the 
celebration of our city's Centennial of Incorporation. 

To your Excellency, the Chief Executive and the civil 
and military officers of State, and other gentlemen represent- 
ing the various departments in our city, the clergy, ladies 
and citizens who have honored us with their presence on this 
interesting occasion, in behalf of the City Council and our 
citizens I extend greeting and bid you welcome. 

Just as these words were pronounced, the veils which hid 
from view the memorial tablet, the portraits of Enston and 
Hutson, and the bust of Hayne, by the sculptor Valentine, 
were deftly removed, and as these beautiful works of art 
were disclosed to view a burst of applause gave evidence of 
the admiration of the audience. 

THE MURAL TABLET. 

This tablet occupies a position in the North wall of the 

Council Chamber, and is the work of Mr. T. H. Reynolds, 

the marble-worker of this city. The tablet is a handsome 

piece of work, of pure white marble. At the top, upon a 



The Centennial of Incorporation. 



raised scroll, appear in gilt letters the words: "City of 
Charleston. Founded 1670 — Incorporated 1783." Beneath 
the scroll appears the following roll of the Intendants and 
Mayors of the city from the date of its incorporation down 
to the present day : 

INTETV DA-TV TS. MIAYOllS. 



7'^3- 
785 
786- 
788 
791- 
792- 
794 
795- 
797 
799 
801 

802- 

803- 

804- 

805- 

806 

808 

8io- 

812 

8r4 

815- 

818 

820- 

821 

822- 

824 

825 

vS26 

827 

830 

831 

833 



—Richard Hutson. 
—A. Vanderhorst. 
—J. F. Grimke. 
—Rawlins Lowndes. 
—A. Vanderhorst. 
—John Huger. 
—John B. Holmes. 
—John Edwards. 

— H. W. DeSaussure. 
— Thos. Roper. 
—John Ward. 
—David Deas. 
—John Drayton. 
—Thos. Winstanley. 
— Chas. B. Cochran. 
—John Dawson, Jr. 
—William Rouse. 
—Thomas McCalla. 
—Thos. Bennett. 
-Thos. Rhett Smith. 
— Eltas Horry. 
—John Geddes. 

— D. Stevens. 
— Elias Horry. 
—James Hamilton, Jr. 
—John Geddes. 
—Samuel Prioleau. 
—Joseph Johnson. 
—John Gadsden. 
—James R. Pringle. 

— H. L. Pinckney. 
— E. W. North. 



1836- 
1837- 
1840- 
1842- 
1846- 
1850- 
1852- 

1855- 
1857- 
1865- 



-ROBERT Y. HaYNE. 

-H. L. Pinckney. 
-Jacob F. Mintzing. 
-John Schnierle. 
-T. L. Hutchinson. 
-John Schnierle. 
-T. L. Hutchinson. 
-W. PoRCHER Miles. 
-Charles Macbeth. 
-P. C. Gaillard. 



Military Appointments. 



1868 



Gen. W. W, Burns, U. S. A. 

Feb'y gth — March 7th. 
Col. M. Cogswell, U. S. A. 

March 7th — July 6th. 
G. W. Clark, 

July 6th — Nov. loth. 



1868— Gilbert Pilsbury. 
1 87 1— John A. Wagener. 
1873— G. I. Cunningham. 
1877— W. W. Sale. 
1879— Wm. a. Courtenay. 



Public Observance of the Day. 19 

THE BUST OF IIAYNE. 

The chaste and beautiful bust of Robert Y. Haync, the 
first Mayor of Charleston, was placed to the right of the 
stand on a temporary pedestal. It was executed by the 
sculptor Valentine, of Richnnond, Va., for the City Council, 
and was made from a small engraving. The bust is slightly 
above life-size, and the work is finished with exquisite taste. 
The neck and chest are covered with classic drapery, and 
the artist has written the character of the man in the face. 
The head is turned slightly to the left and the poise of the 
head and the cast of the features give the appearance of 
one whose attention has just been attracted. There is in 
the turn of the head and neck that fine, noble bearing, and 
in the face that force of expression, softened by the gentle, 
genial smile so characteristic of the man. The full force of 
his broad, noble brow and full mouth are strikingly deline- 
ated. 

The pedestal upon which the bust rests has been elabo- 
rately carved by Mr. Reynolds, of King Street, and bears 
this inscription : 

ROBERT Y. HAYNE, 

Speaker of the House; Attoiney-Geiieral ; Uiiiteel Slates Senator; 

Governor of South Carolina ; First Mayor of Ciiarleston. 

His last public service was his effort to open direct Railroad communication 

with the vast interior of our Continent. 

" Next to the Christian religion I Icnow of nothing to be compared with the 
influence of a free, social and commercial intercourse, in softening asperities, 
removing prejudices, extending knowledge, and promoting human hap[iiness.'' — ■ 
//ayne. 

Born November 10, 1791 — Died September 25, 1839. 

This completed memorial is conceded by all to be one of 
the most elegant in the Union, and reflects great honor on 
the present City Council who, after the lapse of forty-four 
years, have so handsomely redeemed the pledges of a pre- 
vious creneration. 



20 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Lines upon the Unveiling of the Bust of Gen. Robert V. Hayne, 

in the City Hall of Charleston, S. C, ijth August, i88j ; 

zvritten by Paul H. Hayne, and read by Middleton 

Michel, M. D. 

1. 

Behold this grave, bold, knightly head, so graced by power and sweetness, — 
A cordial dome of thought and will, curved to a calm completeness ; 
With mouth pure-lipped, clear-clefted chin, and brow exalted, regal. 
And heightening all, that air which girds the aspiring Alpine Eagle ! 

II. 

Knightly ! — his faith was Sydney's own, — as selfless, reverent, loyal ; 
Few of earth's Kings have owned as crown, a soul so largely royal ; 
Yet soDie durst call our Galahad false ! Ah Christ ! what magic leaven 
Could sweeten that foul charge before the unbribed Courts of Heaven ? 

III. 

False ! Traitor ! On the watch-tower's height he stood serene, unquailing, — 
When many a slanderer's lip was hushed and coward's face was paling ; 
Nor deigned to lower his golden helm, his torch of fiery warning, 
Until the stormy night waves ebbed beyond the reefs of Morning ! 

IV. 
False! Traitor! On some future day — victorious and gigantic. 
The Demon of his dread* 7nay stalk along the waste Atlantic, 
Or, sneer beside Pacific tides, to view the wise oblation 
Which throttled State by State to gorge your Titan, styled — the Nation ! 

V. 
Meanwhile, with reverent love we gaze on this, his sculptured jiresence, 
Whcse soul so long hath breathed above our mortal evanescence ; 
His life-web brightly woven within Fame's tapestry of wonder, 
What Power can dim the splendid warp or rend the woof asunder? 

THE ENSTON PORTRAIT. 

On the right of the Centennial Tablet was placed the 
portrait of the late William Enston, by Stolle, arti.st of 
Dresden, Germany. The portrait i.s a life-like likeness of 
Mr. Enston, and represents him sitting in a cliair attired in 
a dark black coat with white vest, high standing collar and 
black stock. The portrait is framed in a heavy and hand- 
some gilt frame, and takes the place in the Council Cham- 

*Consoli(lation ! Centralism ! 



Piiblic Observance of the Day. 21 

ber of an inferior portrait, which is still preserved, however, 
in the treasury department. 

On the left of the tablet was displayed the portrait of 
the Hon. Richard Hutson, the first Intendant of Charles 
Town, which was kindly loaned for the occasion by a lady 
of Orangeburg, in the possession of whose family the por- 
trait has been for nearly a hundred years. It is in a re- 
markably fine state of preservation, and said to be a capital 
likeness of the original. 

A GRATIFYING SURPRISE. 

Alderman Thayer having paused for a few moments, 
while the audience inspected tiie works of art \\hich had 
just been unveiled, continued his remarks as follows : I have 
been charged with a pleasant duty, and I ask your indul- 
gence while I read the following letter, which indicates more 
fully and better than words of mine, the duty so enjoined : 

25 Lynch Stkket, August 13th, 1883. 

Gentlemen of the City Council — At the opening of the piescnt year it occurred 
to me that some token of acknowledgment, however inadequate, was due f.om 
me for the generous support, the constant and cheerful co-operation, which I 
have received, not only from you, hut from all classes of the community, in the 
efforts I have made to improve the condition of our city, and which have been 
continued up to this time. 

In thanking you, Messrs. Aldermen, and through you the whole body of my 
fellow-citizens for their confidence and good-will, I have felt that I could not 
more appropriately mark my gratitude than by asking your acceptance, in be- 
half of the city, of a work of art which, while adding to the attractions of this 
beautiful Council Chamber, will preserve to posterity the features of a Io\H;d 
citizen, and keep in perpetual remembrance the grand characteristics of his 
noble life. It has been said, and with truth, that when heroism in moral or 
jihysical things is to be commemorated, the real thing celebrated is not the 
thing accomplished, but the effort to accomplish it. Success can always dis- 
pense with praise, i>ut earnestness and fortitude, even to self-sacrifice, are the 
better subjects for contemplation, if we are to derive profitable lessons from the 
memories of the past. 

In choosing my subject I have selected a citizen of such placid endurance, 
undaunted trust in the rightfulness of his opinions, such nobility and indepen- 
dence of character, that unselfish devotion, all through his long life, was like 
the steady and constant flame of patriotism which the ancients used to keep, as 
a symbol, on their altars. In January last I sent a commission to Mr. Harnisch, 



22 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

the sculptor, at Rome, for a marble bust, in the classic style, of James Louis 
Petigru, that on the auspicious occasion, when we would commemorate the 
Centennial of our civic life, we might also fitly mark and commemorate one of 
the loftiest examples and highest types of civic life and duty and fortitude 
within that cycle. No words can better paint this high, brave soul, in his great 
fortitude, than those of his just, generous eulogists, uttered when the roar of 
cannon on the very issue of difference was still breaking on this beleaguered 
city. 

Said David Ramsey, at the Bar Memorial Meeting, in March, 1863 : " From 
the date of man, through all history, interwoven with the very thread of time, 
is an eternal right. Seldom does it fall to a purely legal activity to vindicate 
essential principle ; but that which is placed upon this height, whatever else 
the waters of oblivion may overwhelm, is far above their surge. The greatest 
jurist of the past, who linked his name with the greatest Code in human law, 
had in his remote age to choose between right and life. He sealed his testa- 
ment with blood, preferring the wrath of Caracalla to the accusation of inno- 
cence ; and long as remains language, will vibrate through its various channels 
the dying jurist's undying answer : 'Qua facta Icedunt pietatein existimationeni, 
verecutidiam, et, ut generaliter dixerim, contra bonos mores fiunt, nee nos facere 
posse credendiivi! James Louis Petigru laid ' an offering of age upon the altar 
of Justice,' as unquenchable lustre. 

" When the Sequestration Act required the confidence of clients to be be- 
trayed, the trusts of imbecile age, incapable infancy, irresponsible lunacy, the 
defence of widows and hopeless women, the ties of nearest kindred and sacred 
gratitude, all to be abandoned, his was the voice that gave denial to the delator's 
search. His last effort was truly the coronation of his work. Who can forget 
liis voice, so long eloquent for others, then pleading for himself as to the ques- 
tion why he made refusal, as he answered with a despairing accent, 'Because I 
was free born.' " 

[Alderman Thayer paused a moment while Governor Thompson, of South 
Carolina, at the request of the donor, unveiled the bust.] 

The sculptor's work is before you. As out of this pure white marble, as if it 
had been buried within it — at the bidding of the artist, and under his creative 
inspiration, has come forth the cheery face and commanding brow of our great 
fellow-citizen, so may those who govern here, and all his people, kindled by the 
associations of his memory and by the inspiration of affection and reverence, 
make this enduring marble symbolize high thought and true feeling, and conse- 
crate for themselves yb;^^z'^r /^^re" the abiding truth that the life that is loyal to 
the promptings of conscience and duty outlasts the fickleness of public opinion, 
the violence of revolution and the slow decay of time. 

Very respectfully, 

WM. A. COURTENAY. 

THE BUST OF PETIGRU. 

All eyes were turned in the direction of this new work of 
art, the presentation of which, to every one present, was a 



Public Observance of the Day. 23 

complete surprise. The bust is of heroic size and massively 
executed in the classic style. Those who knew Mr. Petigru 
well, say that the likeness is a good one, and even to those 
who have only seen his portraits the likeness is strongly ap- 
parent. The long hair falling nearly down to the shoulders 
and partly covering the brow, the peculiarly shaped eyes, 
the massive, full mouth and large broad nose, are all charac- 
teristically portrayed. At the proper elevation the bust will 
appear to even better advantage than in its present tempo- 
rary position, and it will always be a work of art which will 
arrest attention and strike the observer at a glance as worthy 
of close study. Mr. Harnisch, the artist who executed this 
bust, is a young American residing in Rome, where he is 
fast acquiring a reputation, and has been for some time at 
work on the bron/.e statue of Senator Calhoun for the La- 
dies' Monumental y\ssociation, soon to be erected on the 
Calhoun Street front of Marion Square in this city. 

CENTENNIAL ODE. 

Alderman Thayer next introduced Middleton Michel, 
M. D., who had been requested by the committee to read 
the Centennial Ode contributed by Paul H. Hayne, " the 
poet-son of Charleston." This agreeable duty was dis- 
charged in a very graceful and effective manner. 

Poem upon the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorpora- 
tion of the City of Charleston, S. C. 



Pallid, yet pnnid she stood that day, half sad, half joyous hearted, 
As one who hears far-off the roar of thunder-clouds departed ; — 
The war-bolt on her brow had left scarred furrows, hot and gory ; — 
But lo ! her calm exultant smile ! — her dark eyes flushed with glory ! 

II. 

She saw the hands of heroes weave her crown of civic honor — 
She felt the hands of patriots place that priceless crown upon her, 
And all her veins were filled with fire of strong and sweet emotion ; — 
Ah ! best beloved of loyal souls .... ah ! stainless Maid of ocean ' 



24 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

III. 

Since then an hundred years have told their story harsh, or tender, — , 

Our Maid hath ripened to a Queen on heights of loftier splendor ; 
Heights held through steel, and fire, and blood, till all men hailed with wonder 
This new Athene, throned above the bolt, the flame, the thunder ! 

IV. 
Three wars have raged al;out her home, and writhed their waves of slaughter, — 
But still serene in thought, as mien, our Jove's unconquered daughter. 
Each dark death mound hath formed a round whereon her zoill wa.s planted ; — 
And up the mountain-wall of fame her firm feet rose enchanted ! 

V. 
And what if power too strong to foil, with all her sheer endeavor, 
Once hurled her from her "vantage coign " and seemed to hurl forever ; — 
She nerved her torn and Ijafiled limbs, and in her heart upyeaining, 
God kept the crystal Lamp of Faith divinely bright and burning ! 

VI. 

Though ruffian buffets smote her cheek, and hell was round her ringin ;, 

Above, a hymn of rescue semed to pour it^ prescient singing ; 

She saw beyond the hail of hate, the rage, and bitter scorning, 

A rose-bud Hope, whose petals fold the perfect Rose of Morning ! 

VII. 
Then rushed a Hero to her side ! one of earth's stateliest scions, — 
His aitn an eagle's aim, his heart a bold Numidian lion's ; 
He pealed a bugle note so loud, it shook the sea-born fountains, 
And sowed its fruitful echoes far, 'mid the dee]3-cfefted mountains ! 

VIII. 

We know the issue ! all unsmirched, with passionate gratulation. 
She rose, she towered ! for who could touch her soul with degradation. 
The cruel fire that singed her robe died out in rainbow-flashes. 
And bright her silvery sandals shone above the hissing ashes ; — 

IX. 

But now the times of blood are passed ! put by the vision dreary ! 
Away with hate and scorn and strife ! hush, hush your misetere ! 
Your sea-winds blow their clarions clear across the restless spaces. 
And every sea-wave hurls a hint oi action in your faces ! 

X. 

Away ! away, both night and day, with thoughts by grief o'er freigliled ; — 
Have ye not borne and toiled and bled? have ye not prayed and waited? 
A golden Day has dawned at last ! a morn of cloudless vision ; 
Up gallant Hearts ! and crown the dream with full and fair fruition ! 



Public Observance of the Day. 25 

XI. 

Up gallant Hearts! your Leader's here ! no guide that guideth blindly — 
( Methinks our Lady's softening eyes rest on him sweetly, kindly) — 
Your civic chief so firmly wed to harsh and rugged Duty. 
I vow his kiss hath almost flushed her homely face to beauty ! 

XIL 

Your civic chief is here to lead ! who, who will blithely follow? 
Be sure ye shall not find the path beneat*h your footsteps hollow ; — 
This man, I deem, would gladly fall in Labor's armor breathless, — 
If deeds, or death of his could make his city's glory deathless ! 

XIII. 

O, City of my Fathers' love ! beside whose streamlets straying, 

My boyish feet, to jocund tunes, have gone so oft " a-Maying" 

O, City of ancestral graves! — ^each clod a Sacred treasure, — 

What marvel that one mournful chord wails through this dying measure? 

XIV. 

The sea-songs come, the sea-songs go across thine ocean reaches, 
The sea-tides ebb, the sea-tides flow far up thy glittering beaches ; 
Not mine to draw a new-born hope from waves so brightly glowing, 
Not mine to hear in deepening winds a trump of onset blowing ! 

XV. 

Ah no! ah no! across the flow, half welcome, half appalling, 

I catch the voices of the dead from twilight-verges calling ; — 

The shadows grow more gray that shroud this strange, outworn existence ; 

And still those yearning voices call from out the sea-bound distance ! 

XVI. 

Quaint City of my youth, farewell ! no more these eyes may quiver. 
Dazed by the glint of surf and sail on flickering bar or river. 
No more these weary limbs may own the soul's imperious order, 
To bear me where the sun-caps flash beyond thy billowy border ! 

XVII. 

Brave City of my youth, farewell ! When safe from midday riot 

Kissed by the slumberous star that sways her lotus-land of quiet, 

I still shall see thro' half-closed lids thy moonlight beauty beaming, 

And hear St. Michael's mellowed bells swoon down the tides of dreaming ! 

4 



26 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

THE CENTENNIAL OF CHARLESTON— HAYNE 
AND PETIGRU. 

" A hundred years ago Charleston was already a century 
old, but she then first acquired corporate existence and be- 
came the senior city of the United States. On Monday the 
Centennial of this event was appropriately celebrated, and 
our columns this morning are full of the ceremonies of the 
day and the brilliant pageant of the moonlit night. 

The address of Mayor Courtenay is a treasur)' of noble 
records and of suggestions pregnant with hope and promise 
for the future, a work of intellect and industry in every way 
worthy of the day, the theme and the incomparable admin- 
istration of which he has been for four years the head and 
moving spirit. 

The occasion was further signalized by the unveiling of a 
bust of the Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, which the City Council 
has erected, to its own honor and to the adornment of its 
new hall. The tribute of remembrance and gratitude thus 
rendered to the illustrious Carolinian by a generation to 
whom his name is only a tradition, but who are inheritors 
of his fame, is also an act of homage to the virtues and 
services of a long line of civic magistrates. Of these Hayne 
was most eminent, not only in being the first to wear the 
title of Mayor, but also in having brought to the municipal 
chair the trophies of the Senate Chamber and the highest 
honors of the Commonwealth. He had served the State as 
soldier, orator, statesman and Chief Executive during a 
period of unexampled trial, and in 1833 he filled the public 
eye as a character of heroic proportions ; yet such was the 
genuineness of his patriotism, so pure was his singleness of 
purpose, that he assumed the modest functions of Mayor at 
the call of Charleston, and spent in the effort to enlarge her 
commerce and extend her influence all the riches of his ex- 
perience and all the resources of his untiring energy. From 
the Mayoralty he passed, with the same high aims and pur- 
poses, to the helm of the then newly launched scheme of 



Public Observance of the Day. 27 

railroad extension to the West, and fell at his post, a martyr 
to the service of his State and of Charleston. 

It was but an incident in the brilliant career of Hayne 
that he was Attorney-General of the State; but it was an 
epoch in the laborious life of Petigru, two years Mayne's 
senior, to succeed him in that honorable office, when Hayne 
was called to a higher field of activity. 

The Mayor, under an inspiration of reverent appreciation 
that does him tlie highest honor, has presented to the city 
a bust of the Hon. James L. Petigru, and the unveiling of 
that was also part of the proceedings in the Council Cham- 
ber yesterday afternoon. It is remarkable that these two 
men should have been thus associated in public remem- 
brance just half a century after the great contest in which 
they stood confronted as opposing chiefs in the fiercest 
political strife ever known in the history of South Carolina. 
The passionless marble which recalls their features indicates 
the spirit in which we should revive the story of the conflict 
into which they were plunged when life was hottest in 
their veins and the forces of conviction impelled them with 
equal energy to contrary conclusions. Champions of the 
unlike sides of a still ambiguous shield, who shall say now 
that either was wrong? Alike in vigor of mind, in fidelity 
to principle, in force of character, Hayne and Petigru were 
in strong contrast in relation to all other things. Hayne 
had begun life on a high plane, and was a conspicuous char- 
acter before he attained his majority. He came to the great 
struggle in 1832 flushed with triumph on every field of per- 
sonal and political achievement, the pride of a cultivated 
and fastidious society, the idol of the people, glittering with 
a renown that shone over the whole Union, arrayed in 
gubernatorial dignity and wielding the force of a united and 
enthusiastic people. 

Over against this imposing figure, barring its imperious 
way, stood Petigru, without fame, fortune, influence or ma- 
terial force, armed only with uncompromising dissent and 
equipped with nothing but the impassioned eloquence of 
earnest dissuasion. The end is written in the memories of 



28 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

his friends and foes, and its pathos is still fresh after fifty 
years. Defeated and ostracised, he resumed with patient 
labor the practice of a profession which called him often 
without reward, to be the shield of the defenceless and a 
refuge for the weak, but opened to him no avenue to fortune 
or distinction. Yet when the storm was over, Petigru and 
Hayne, vanquished and victor, united with equal and most 
rare magnanimity to calm the passions it had lashed to fury, 
and to mend the friendships which had been shattered by 
its violence. 

It is well for us that their effigies shall henceforth stand 
forever side by side, in enduring marble, to remind us that 
they both belong to us, that it is peculiarly our privilege to 
reverence their memories, to learn by their example and to 
emulate their characters. Our children will thus ever pos- 
sess the highest types of contrasted greatness as models for 
their conduct, whether it be in success or failure, in glory or 
obscurity, in fortune or in poverty. If our youth may light 
at Hayne's shrine the torch of exalted ambition, they may 
also learn at Petigru's how even defeat may be ennobled by 
tenacity of principle in the scorn of consequence." — The 
Neivs and Courier^ August i^, iS8j. 



EVENING EXHIBITION— THE PYROTECHNICS— A 
VAST MULTITUDE AND A GRAND DISPLAY. 

" So far as the general public was concerned, especially the 
youthful portion of the public, the display of fireworks 
which was announced to close the day was the main and all- 
important feature of the celebration. People who had 
boats began to haul them to the Lake early in the afternoon, 
and by 5 o'clock the rippling bosom of that now beautiful 
sheet of water was covered with a fleet of over a hundred 
boats of all descriptions — skiffs, yawls, gigs, punts, bateaux, 
canoes, outriggers and Whitchalls. Almost every boat had 
a pole rigged up in stem and stern with lines stretched 



Public Observance of the Day. 29 

across for hanging lanterns, and during the afternoon many 
of them were gaily decorated with flags. 

The weather was delightful, and the small boy was out 
in force long before 5 o'clock watching the preparations 
with the most intense and eager interest. Two enterprising 
Greek merchants had caught an inspiration and transported 
their peanut and soda water stand bodily to the scene. 
They will retire from business bloated bondholders. At 6 
o'clock the small boys had fringed the three sides of the 
concrete wall of the Lake, and thousands more of them 
were lolling around the Lake sporting on the grass. 

As early as 7 o'clock the crowd of growr persons began 
to get underway for the Lake. They came in groups of 
three, four, five and more, many groups consisting of papa, 
mamma and all the children. The only available line of 
railway was the Rutledge Street line, and for three hours 
before the time appointed for the commencement of the 
display the cars were taxed to their utmost capacity to 
transport the crowd. Many people brought camp stools 
with them, and those who didn't have camp stools brought 
chairs. At fifteen minutes past 7 o'clock, an hour and a 
quarter before the time announced for the opening, there 
were five thousand persons at the Lake, and every street 
leading to it was thronged with people wending their way 
thitherward. 

The seats put up and railed in by Von Santen, 600 in 
number, were filled an hour before the show began. People 
came on foot and on horseback and in vehicles, and as the 
darkness increased the crowd increased and swelled and 
swelled until when the little boats on the Lake began to 
light up their lanterns and the lights in the windows of the 
surrounding houses began to twinkle in the deepening 
shades there were not less than 15,000 persons on the 
grounds. The three sides of the Lake were densely packed 
with people of every shade of color, sex and condition of 
life, while the roadways were equally crowded with vehicles 
of every description loaded with people. The windows and 
piazzas in the vicinity were also crowded. The invited 



30 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

guests of the city were provided with seats in the enclosure 
and had a fine view of the display. 

As darkness came on the fleet of boats on the Lake 
began to light up their Chinese lanterns and occasionally to 
give an amateur display of fireworks in the shape of various 
colored Bengal lights. Now and then a lantern would take 
fire and the event would be hailed with cheers from the 
boys on shore. Then the band began to play, and as the 
strains were wafted across the water to the boys in the boats 
they would cease rowing and keep time to the music by 
clapping their hands very much after the fashion of boys at 
a matinee. And so the crowd waited patiently and good 
humoredly for the hour which came at last. At precisely 
half-past 8 o'clock the first "detonating mortar" was fired, 
and the 15,000 people at length settled themselves down to 
the business of the evening, which commenced soon after. 

THE FIREWORKS BEGIN. 

If we except a few ordinary rockets sent up by some 
impatient ones from the boats on the lake the first display 
of any consequence was a striped and fiery balloon which 
rose majestically and floated off toward the North, followed 
by thousands of eyes, as it changed from striped to red, 
then white, and exploded, letting fall a shower of brilliant 
sparks, and continued floating, floating, ever higher and 
higher, till the feelings of the spectators were aptly ex- 
pressed by a little darkey, who called out, " Deh, now ! he 
done tu'n into a star!" Another balloon of equal splendor 
followed, changing as it rose, from red to green, from green 
to white. Large colored rockets arose, exploding and falling 
to earth in the form of what the programme calls " peacock's 
plumes," "silver streamers," "golden clouds," "eagle's 
claws," and a great many other romantic things, but which, 
in reality, looked like a huge chandelier, depended from mid- 
heaven, or like an aerial fountain of fire. On the bosom of 
the Lake changing fires burned and glowed, lighting up the 
watery depths, the fairy-like boats, and the immense throng 



Public Observance of the Day. 31 

of humanity packed in masses along the three sides of the 
Lake, with sheets of flame blue, crimson and golden. Then 
to the extreme delight of the small boys, manifested in their 
squeals and hoots of ecstacy, fiery porpoises began to leap 
and plunge and disport themselves with unexpected play- 
fulness in the water. They leaped, they darted along the 
surface of the Lake ; they dove, they circled over and over 
through the air, and finally sought a watery grave. The 
first set piece was "The Sunburst," quite successful, yet we 
doubt whether even the most appreciative knew exactly the 
terms in which to describe what they saw. The uninitiated, 
and especially the childish mind, merely gathered a general 
impression of indescribable magnificence, and knew not that 
tile whirling fires were " rayonet fires, marooned." Indeed 
it was quite impossible to follow out the programme or to 
guess which were the " salvos of aerial saucissons," &c., but 
nevertheless to the mind unsurfeited by spectacles the scene 
was one of rare beauty and richness. One of the most suc- 
cessful of the set pieces was " The Peruvian Glory," which 
whirled and spun, in dazzling perfection, without, a wheel 
of silver, encircling a smaller atar of gold, which held within 
its centre a tiny brilliant wheel, which spun on in determined 
fashion when the other portions of the splendid fabric hao 
fallen away in tragmentary glory. The moon, meanwhile, 
was no unnoticed participant in all this beauty, seeming to 
veil her splendor while each exhibition went on and then 
shining forth serenely to fill up the gaps between the more 
exciting because less familiar performances. The "Casket 
of Jewels" showed an arrangement of what well may be 
called " gems " against the dusky sky, and the showers of 
sparkling spray added to the wonderful spectacle. The 
fun grew fast and furious as fiery serpents frolicked through 
the sky and then fell curving into the Lake, and fiery 
globules of every hue flew hither and thither through the air. 
The " Jewelled Cross of Malta " was really perfect, stand- 
ing in compact brilliancy while a rain of gold and silver fell 
before it. Instead of growing weary of such lengthy ad- 
miration the crowd manifested its pleasure and delight by 



32 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

ecstatic though low-toned murmurs, which grew louder and 
more gleeful with each successive display, till they culminated 
in a sort of wild roar of delight over the " Charles Town, 
1670," which appeared worked in jewelled letters against 
the dusky setting of the skies. This made the spectators 
hungry for more set pieces, and they hardly looked at the 
"display of bombshells in great variety" which intervened 
between this and the " Fort Moultrie, June 28, 1776." 

Again the sky was lighted up by meteoric rockets of 
every hue, and the waters illumined by changing fires. 
And finally the climax to all this magnificence was reached 
when there appeared against the sky "Charleston City" in 
letters of flame, flanked by the dates 1783 and 1883, with 
two monuments or pillars of diamonds, with gushing foun- 
tains on either side. This was virtually the closing, for 
everybody made for home, seeing the ''Gigantic aerial 
bouquet " only over their shoulders ; but every one was 
loud in admiration and praise of the grand success of the 
evening's entertainment and their own special enjoyment. 

When the last Roman candle had sent up its last fiery 
ball and darkness once more pervaded the Lynch Street side 
of the Lake the crowd began to disperse. Notwithstanding 
the numerous avenues of exit in all directions, locomotion 
in any of the streets was very slow. In Broad Street the 
pedestrians occupied the entire width of the street, sidewalk 
as well as carriage way, and not until the crowd reached 
Logan Street had it sufficiently thinned out to render the 
sidewalks sufficient for the purposes of locomotion. 

THE ELECTRIC DISPLAY. 

The Electric Light Company celebrated the Centennial 
by a brilliant illumination of King Street from Broad Street 
to Calhoun Street. For sometime past the company has 
been at work adjusting lamps at the intersection of the 
streets along the route named, and last evening the lamps 
were lighted and King Street was as bright as day. Al- 
though many of the lights were a square apart the in- 



Public Observance of the Day. 33 

termediate spaces were brightly illuminated and the effect 
gave a fair idea of the comfort which pedestrians will enjoy 
when the public thoroughfares of the city are lighted with 
electric lights. 

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 

During the afternoon the Board of Firemasters sent a 
steam engine to Lynch Street to wet down the shavings 
and other combustible material in the yards of the saw and 
lumber mills in the vicinity. The engine was kept on duty 
until II P. M. ih order to guard against even the remote 
contingency of an accident." 
5 



34 



TJie Centennial of Incorporation, 



rilAKLKSTON 1670-1883. 




'I'liL- Ship of the Period. 



The first permanent English set- 
tlement (Ml this continent was made 
at Jamestown, Virginia, May 13th, 
1607, when one hundred and five 
colonists hinded from three ships. 
Sixty-three years after, in the month 
of A})ril, 1670, Governor William 
Sayle with his colonists landed at 
Albemarle Point, on the West Bank 
(.A Ashley River, opposite what is now Charleston. 

It was an eventful era in the world's history; "the 
air of Europe was filled with the romance of primeval 
forests, dusky figures and feathered crests along the new 
Western horizon," and so it came that in those sixty- 
three years. Englishmen, Irishmen, Hollanders, PVench 
Huguenots, Scotchmen, Germans, Swiss, Swedes, and 
other Europeans, were landing in a steady immigration 
(jn these American shores. No ships of state convey- 
ed them over the ocean; *' they came in coarse cloth- 
ing, not in raiment of velvet and gilded armour." They 
came to stay — alive in every fibre, with an exultant life, and 
they ste[)ped ashore with freshly awakened activities. A 
broad territory was to be subdued, and with crude imple- 
ments; with axe, hoe and plough they were to conquer a 
wilderness, and they may have felt, too, that the century 
they represented would be more illustrious by their action. 
From Plymouth to Charles Town, with a daring spirit 
they set up their banners of conquest, and as they bivouac- 
cd by the murmuring shores of the Atlantic, they realized 
that there was no land behind them to which to retreat ; a 
broad ocean was rolling in their rear. Under such condi- 
tions they and their children were to be actors in the vast 



CJiarhsiou — idjo-iSSj. 35 

iiiirolding of a continent, which they then little knew was 
to be ultimately fashioned into the form of many free com- 
monwealths. 

THE FIRST LORD PROPRIETOR. 

Twenty-four years after the landing at James Town, and 
eleven years after the landing at Plymouth, "Charles I, by the 
Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland — 
KlN(;, Defender of the haith,"&c., initiated measures, which 
were prompted by the stir and fervor of the period, and 
which he hoped would lead to a new and prosperous settle- 
ment adjoining the James Town Colony on the South. 
This royal thought found expression in what is known as 
Sir Robert Heath's Patent, which seems to have been draft- 
ed and made of record on the 4th of August, 163 1, and sub- 
sequently confirmed to him "at Westminster the 30th Octo- 
ber " in the same year, being the 5th of the Reign. "The 
King to all to whom these pr'et'es,* &c., greeting — Whereas 
our beloved and faithfuU subject and servant, Sir Robert 
Heath, our Attorney-General, kindled w'th a certaine 
laudable and pious desier, as well of enlarging the 
Christian Religion as our Empire, and increasing the 
trade and commerce of this our Kingdomc," the King 
generously conveyed to his beloved subject for these 
high purposes, "a certaine Region or territory, in the 
jiarts of North America betwixt one and thirty and 
thirty-six degrees of Northern latitude inclusively pla- 
ced, yet hitherto until'd, neither inhabited by ours or the 
subjects of any other Christian King, Prince or State, &c.," 
an imperial domain, including what is now part of North 
Carolina, all of South Carolina and Georgia, and extending 
to a rather indefinite distance Westward ; " he beeing about 
to lead thither a Colonye of men large and plentiful!, pro- 
fessing the true Religion, sedulously and industriously ap- 
plying themselves to the culture of ye sayd lands and to mer- 
chandising, to be performed by industrye at his own charges, 

* Present Letters. 



36 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

and others by his example." Sir Robert was further created 
" Sole Lord Proprietor," and it was also stipulated that he 
was to pay for the lands, " in chiefely Knights Service, and 
by paying for it, to us, our heirs and successors, one circle 
of Gold formed in the fashion of a crowne of the weight of 
20 ounces, with this inscription ingraved upon it — Deus 
coronet opus suum ;" and further, " by the fulnes of our 
power and Kingly authority for us, our heirs and successors, 
we doe erect and incorporate (these lands) into a Province, 
and Name the same Carolana or the Province of CarO- 
LANA, and the fores'd Isles Carolany Islands," &c. 

So royal a gift under such auspicious environments, which 
promised so much, was doomed to disappointments. 

In the years immediately succeeding the issue of this 
royal patent of broad acres and great privileges, I find no 
evidence that any worthy effort to colonize was made; and 
nine years after the date of Sir Robert Heath's Patent, Oli- 
ver Cromwell begun to figure in England's history as a mem- 
ber of Parliament, contesting Cambridge with the Poet 
Cleveland, a zealous loyalist, defeating him, it is said, 
by one vote — and eliciting from the defeated candidate the 
remark that "that single vote had ruined both church and 
kingdom." 

THE SECOND LORDS PROPRIETORS. 

The political struggles in England in the ensuing years 
seem to have diverted public attention from the settlement 
of "Carolana" — and the next movement we find was 
under the authority of a grant by Charles II, in 1663, by 
his letters patent under the great seal of England, to the 
Right Hono'ble Edward Earle of Clarendon, Lord High 
Chancellor of England ; George Duke of Albemarle, Capt. 
Gener'l of all His Ma'ties forces in the Kingdom of Eng- 
land, Scotland and Ireland, and Mast'r of the Horse; Wm. 
Lord Craven; John Lord Berkeley; Antiiony Lord Ashley, 
Chancellor of the Excheq'er; Sir George Cartrett, Vice 
Chamberlain of His Ma'ties Household; Sir Wm. Berkeley, 



O 


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o 




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cr 


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CL 



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J? § 



Charleston — iSyo-iSSj. 37 

Kn't, and Sir John Colleton, Kn't and Baron'tt — the true and 
absolute Lords Proprietors of all the Province of Carolina. 

They adopted a great seal, the obverse and reverse of 
which is presented herewith with their autographs in fac- 
simile, which will be viewed with interest. 

This new title to the Lords Proprietors for this Province 
was confirmed by an order made at the Court of Whitehall 
on I2th August, 1663. when His Majesty, "taking into 
consideracon the state and pr'sent condicion of the Province 
or Region called Carolina, in America, and his Grant of the 
same by his Letters Patents under the Great Scale of Eng- 
land," to the Lords Proprietors (before named), and upon 
information, that all pretenders to former Grants had been 
summoned to bring or send to His Majesty's Attorney- 
General their Letters Patents, Grants or other evidences of 
title, and that none such had appeared; "and forasmuch as 
no English whatsoever have, by virtue of such Grants, 
Jiitherto plantcci in the said Province, by which neglect 
such Letters Patents (if any were) are become voyd," it 
was ordered, that the Attorney-General proceed to re- 
voke and make void all former Letters Patents and Grants 
of the said Province ; and tiiat henceforth, that when any 
like Grant of any foreign plantation should be prepared "to 
passe his Ma'ties Great Scale, " a clause be inserted, " that 
if within a certain number of yeares no plantacon be made 
and performed the said Grant shall become void. " 

And it was further ordered, that the Duke of Albemarle 
and others, the before named, Patentees, "do proceed in 
the planting of the said Province of Carolina," and that 
henceforward " no person or persons whatsoever do pr'sume 
to goe into the said Province or molest or disturbe the said 
Grantees or any persons by them or any of them trusted 
or imployed upon pr'tence of any former Grant whatso- 
ever," &c. 

The Proprietors, therefore, were impelled by two mo- 
tives, at least, for establishing the Colony — the one, the 
hope of a profitable return from their investments ; the 
other, to prevent a reversion of their Grant. 



38 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

Previous to this Grant a few settlements had been made 
near Albemarle Sound by dissenters from Virginia, and a 
little Colony had been planted near the -nouth of Cape 
Fear River by New Englanders, which was subsequently 
abandoned. 

THE INITIATORY PROCEEDINGS— HILTON'S VOYAGE TO THE 

COAST. 

The first response to the proposals of the Commissioners 
of the Lords Proprietors to secure settlers in the " Province 
of Carolina," was made by "several gentlemen and mer- 
chants of the Island of Barbadoes," who undertook a voy- 
age to the coast " Southwards and Westwards of Cape Ro- 
mano," in August, 1663. The history of this exploration of 
the country is fully recorded in — 

"A True Relation of a Voyage, upon discovery of part 
of the Coast of FLORIDA from the latitude of 31° to 
33° 45^ North latitude, in the ship Adventiire, William Hil- 
ton Commander and Commissioner, with Captain Anthony 
Long and Peter Fabian, set forth by several gentlemen and 
merchants of the Island of Barbadoes, sailed from Spikes 
Bay, Aug. 10, 1663." 

They visited several points on the coast between Cape 
Feareand Port Royale, notably Edistowand " Saint Ellens," 
where they had communication with the Indians, and learned 
that an English vessel had been " cast away some four or 
five leagues to the Northward of the place where we then 
rode (North Edisto) on the 24th July past," and of the 
"■ thirteen persons who had come on shoar, three had been 
killed by the Indians." Hilton's narrative proves that the 
Spaniards were frequent visitors to this locality from St. 
Augustine, " sometimes in canoa's within land," at other 
times in vessels by sea, which the Indians describe as 
" having two masts." There were Spaniards then in the 
vicinity, and Hilton communicated with them. In one of 
his visits ashore at "Saint Ellens" (St. Helena) he gives the 



Cha r lest 0)1 — i6yo-i 88 j . 



39 



following interesting account of an Indian settlement which 
clearly indicates frequent intercourse with the Spaniards: 
"That which we noted there, was a fair house builded in 
the shape of a dove-house, round, two hundred foot at 
least, complcatly covered with Paln:ieto leaves, the wal- 
plate being twelve foot high, or thereabouts, and within 
lodging Rooms and forms : two pillars at the entrance of a 
high seat, above all the rest ; also an other house, like a 
Sentinel-house, floored ten foot high with planks, fastned 
with spikes and nayls, standing upon substantial posts, 
with several other small houses round about. Also we saw 
many planks, to the quantity of three thousand foot or 
thereabouts, with other timbers squared, ^?//;^/ rt Cross before 
the great house. Likewise we saw the R nines of an old 
Fort, compassing more than half an acre of land within 
the Trenches, which we supposed to be Charl's Fort, built, 
and so called by the French in 1562," &c. 

The earliest visitors 
to America, in the six- 
teenth century, found 
the Indians acII sup- 
plied with small boats, 
" made of one tree 
twenty foote long four foote broad, which are not made with 
iron or stone or any other kind of metall, they help them- 
selves, with fire burning so much of the tree as is sufificient 
for the hollownesse of the boat, the like they do in making 
the stem and fore part, until it be fit to sail upon the sea." 
From an old map I present a picture of one of these In- 
dian boats, which, in more comely form, we have seen in our 
own time fashioned from the trunk of a black cypress, used 
even for speed, in boat racing. 

Hilton's narrative shows that the Indians had " plenty 
of corn, pumpions, water-melons and musk-melons," and 
the country abounded with "grapes, large figs and peaches." 
His voyage occupied five months, having, " after several 
known apparent dangers, both by sea and land," cast anchor 
in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, " our long wished for and much 




''Havicuhl TloriMuiomm e^ trunco wiius _ 
arborisijne cjcujta,. In 'l^tnfinltjmikshabet . 



40 The Centennial of Incorporation'. 

desired port," on 6th January, i66|-, " to render an ac- 
count of our Discovery the verity of which we aver." It is 
signed by " Anthony Long, William Hilton, Peter Fabian." 

In 1665 the Proprietors themselves entered on the task of 
colonization with a persistency and a disregard of outlay 
which recalls the early days of the Virginia Colony. In Oc- 
tober of that year, they sent forth an expedition on a voy- 
age of discovery in the region of country previously visited 
by Hilton. It was placed in charge of Sir John Yeamans, 
who seems to have been a prominent person in the English 
Colony of Barbadoes at that period, but the plans were 
finally executed by Robert Sandford, an official, represent- 
ing the Lords Proprietors in the "County of Clarendon, 
on Cape Feare River." 

His adventures, told by himself, with great fulness and 
graphic simplicity, recall the days of Amidas and Gosnold, 
He explored the coast from Charles River to Port Royal, 
and followed the course of a river for thirty miles inland, 
delighted with the kindness of the Indians, and the rich- 
ness of the country. He was also accompanied on this voy- 
age by Dr. Woodward, a friend of the Earl of Shaftesbury, 
and his name appears frequently in the annals of Carolina. 

Among the transcripts of the " Shaftesbury Papers," 
owned by the City Council, is this manuscript of thirty-six 
pages : " Being the Relation of a Voyage on the Coast of 
the Province of Carolina, formerly called Florida, in the 
Continent of Northern America from Charles River, neere 
Cape Feare, in the County of Clarendon, and the lat. of 34: 
deg: to Port Royall in the North. Lat. of 32 deg : begun 
14th June, 1666 — performed by Robert Sandford, Esq., 
Secretary and Cheife Register for the Right Hon'ble the 
Lords Proprietors of their County of Clarendon, in the Pro- 
vince aforesaid." This record gives an authenthic and 
complete narrative of the first well considered and success- 
ful effort to prepare for a Colony in Carolina. From it I 
learn, that in 1665 the Lords Proprietors constituted Sir 
John Yeamans, Baronet, their Lt. Gen'l with ample powers 
for placing a Colony in some of the Rivers to the Southward 



Charleston — i6yo-i88j. 41 

and Westward of Cape Romano, who departing from the 
Island of the Barbadoes in October 1665 in a fly boate of 
about 150 tons, accompanied by a small friggate of his own 
and a sloop, purchased by a common purse for the Service 
of the Colony, after they had been Separated by a great 
Storm att Sea, wherein the frigate lost all her masts and 
himself had liked to have been foundered they were all 
brought together againe in the beginning of Nov. to an 
anchor, before the mouth of Charles River, near Cape 
Feare. Subsequently a violent gale totally wrecked the 
Fly Boate with the greatest part of the provisions, clothes, 
magazine of arms, powder and other military furniture of 
the Expedition, but no lives were lost. The necessities of 
the Colonists at Cape Feare were so great however that 
Sir John Yeamans was constrained to consent to have the 
Sloope go to Virginia for supplies, and the losses incurred 
compelled him to Return at once to Barbadoes, ' yett that 
the designe of the Southern Settlement might not wholly 
fall, he conditioned with the freighters of the Sloope that 
in case she miscarryed in her Virginia voyage, they should 
hire Capt. Edward Stanyon's vessel, then in their harbour, 
but bound for Barbadoes, to perform the discovery, and left a 
commission with me for effecting it, upon the Return of the 
Sloope or of Capt. Stanyon, which should first happen.' 
The Sloope in her coming home from Virginia laden with 
vituall, 'being Ready by Reason of her extreme Rotteness 
in her timbers to sinkc,' was driven on Cape Lookout and 
lost, with two of the crew, the balance making their way 
through the Sound to Roanoke Island." 

Captain Stanyon, returning from Barbadoes " weakely 
maned and without any second to himself, driven to and 
fro on the sea for many weeks by contrary winds and con- 
quered with care vexation and watching, lost his Reason 
and after many wild extravagancyes leapt overboard and was 
lost," leaving his small company and vessel to be brought 
by a miraculous Providence after many wanderings back to 
Charles River. 

" I had now a vessell to performe my Southern Expedi- 




42 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

tion, but disfurnished of a master and none here skilled in 
navigation to be persuaded to the voyage, least therefore a 
worke so necessary to promote the Settlement of this Pro- 
vince, sh'd be poorly left, without an attempt, Myself un- 
dertooke the office, though noe better capacitated for it, 
than a little Reading in the Mathematicks had Rendered 
me, with the helpe of a few observations, made whilst a 
passenger in some late Sea voyages to divert their tedium." 

It was not until the i6th June, 1666, that he left Charles 
River, in a sloop of 15 tons with seventeen of the Colony ; 
himself, two men and a boy being the ships company, with 
a small shallope of three tons " belonging to ye Lords 
Proprietors," and appointed by the " Lt Gen'l to that Service 
in which I placed Henry Brayne of some experience in Sea 
matters and two other men." 

It is not possible to do more than mention that the first 
entrance he effected was at " Edistoh,"^' where he found the 
land a "rich fatt Soyle, black mould on the topp " — and had 
pleasant interviews with the Indians ; Shadoo, the captain 
of the tribe having been at Barbadoes. I find this inter- 
esting item : " Amongst these Indians was one, who used 
to come with the Southern Indians to trade with us att 
Charles Town in Clarendon, and is known by the name of 
Cassique, he belongeth to the Country of Kiwaha, and was 
very earnest with me, to go with my vessel thither, assuring 
me a broad deep entrance and promising a large welcome 
and plentiful entertainment and trade. I told him I must 
first go to Port Royall and that in my Returne I would see 
his country, but for his better security, he would need ac- 
company me to Port Royall, and be my Pilot for their 
River," and actually did so. The narrative of this visit to 
" Edistoh " is quite extensive and most interesting, but can 
only be so referred to here. The voyage was resumed to- 
wards Port Royal, and in the first days of July both vessels 
arrived there. The country was viewed in various direc- 
tions, the numerous water courses explored, and the In- 
dians told them of a great river, " that run far into the 

*North Edisto. 



Charleston— i6yo-i88j . 43 

Continent," which I infer was the Savannah River. The 
voyagers were greatly impressed with numerous oyster 
banks and piles of oyster shells at many points, and con- 
cluded it would " put an additional value upon the Settle- 
ment that shall be made here," having such " necessary 
material for lime for many ages ;" and near by, " finde clay 
for making brick and tile" — while " the great and frequent 
sculls of fish we mett with give us expectation of advantage 
and employment." I quote the following narrative of the 
conclusion of their visit to Port Royal, to illustrate the 
friendly reception of the Indians here, as at " Edistoh," 
and the mutual confidence exhibited on both sides, by the 
receiving and giving of hostages. Another interesting 
episode is the persistent efforts of the " Cassique," from 
Kiawah, to induce the voyagers to visit his country. 

" The next day being the 7th of July, I tooke in some 
fresh water purposing that night to leave Port Royall and 
return homeward, haveing in the discovery already made 
exceeded all our owne, and therefore confident to answere 
all other expectacons, besides each mans proper occasion 
hastened him and the consideration of the charge of the 
vessell hired, att five and twenty pounds sterling per month 
made us earnest not to detain her a minute of time unnec- 
essarily. Wee also designed ourselves some daies to seethe 
country of Kywaha, one of whose Inhabitants remained still 
with us. for that onely purpose ; But a little before night 
the Cassique of Port Royall came aboard and brought with 
him a propper young fellow, whome hee made mee to un- 
derstand to bee his sister's sonne. Hee demanded of mee 
when I would retorne thither, and shewing mee the moone, 
asked, whether within three times of her compleating her 
orbe ? I told him noe, but in tenn monthes I would ; hee 
seemed troubled att the length of time and as it were 
begged mee to come in five ; But I continued my first given 
number, att length hee gave mee this young fellowe, told 
mee hee should goe and retorne with mee and that I must 
clothe him and then hee asked mee when I would sayle, I 
told him presently that night, but hee very much impor- 



44 ^/^^ Centennial of Incorporation. 

tuned mee to stay until the next day, that hee might pre- 
pare mee some venison, and made signes as hee parted, that 
if in the morning hee should not see mee hee should crye, 
and soe hee left mee, and the Indian with mee ; I was some- 
what pleased with the adventure, haveing before I came on 
the Discovery wished that if I liked the Country I might 
prevaile with the Indians to tell one of their Nacon, to goe 
with mee, I leaving an English man in their roome for the 
mutuall learning their language, and to that purpose one 
of my Company Mr. Henry Woodward a chirurgeon, had 
before I sett out assured mee his resolucon to stay with the 
Indians if I should thinke convenient, wherefore I resolved 
to stay till the morning to see if the Indians would remaine 
constant in this Intencon, according to which I purposed to 
treat further with them on the morrowe, therefore I went 
a shoare to their Towne tooke Woodward and the Indian 
with mee and in presence of all the Inhabitants of the 
place and of the fellows relacons asked if they approved of 
his goeing along with mee, they all with one voyce con- 
sented, after some pause I called the Cassique and another 
old man (His second in authority) and their wives and in 
sight and hearing of the whole Towne, delivered Woodward 
into their charge, telling them that when I retorned I would 
require him att their hands. They received hi in with such 
high Testimonyes of Joy and thankfullnes as hughely con- 
firmed to me their great desire of our friendshipp and so- 
ciety. The Cassique placed Woodward by him uppon the 
Throne and after lead him forth and shewed him a large 
field of maiz which hee told him should be his, then hee 
brought him, the sister of the Indian that I had with mee 
telling him that shee should tend him and dresse his vic- 
tualls and be careful of him that soe her Brother might be 
the better used amongst us. I stayed a while being woun- 
derous civilly treated, after their manner and giveing 
Woodward formall possession of the whole Country, to hold 
as Tcnnant att Will of the Right Hono'ble the Lords Pro- 
prietors, 1 retorned aboard and imediately weighed and fell 
downe towards the sea." On the loth of July in the 



Charleston —I dyo-iSSj. 45 

morning, " I was fayi'e before ye River that leadeth into 
the country of Kywaha,* but the Indian of that place, 
who undertook to be my guide and had accompanied me 
from Edistow for that sole purpose, would not know it to 
be the same, but "affirmed that it was more Easterly; 
This confidence of his made mee stand away, and when it 
was too late his error was discovered and the wind not fa- 
voring my return wee proceeded on our journey and on the 
1 2th July entered Charles River, and landed at Charles 
Town, County of Clarendon." 

Referring to the opening of which he had sailed up to 
and which was not entered, Sandford says " the River lyes 
in a bay between ' Harvey Haven ' and ' Cape St. Romano ' 
where wc found seven or eight fathoms water very neere 
the shore, and not the least appearance of shoales or dan- 
gers in any part of itt. It shewes with a very faire large 
opening cleare of any fflatts or bareing in ye entrance, only 
before the Easterne point wee sawe a beach but not farre 
out, I persuade myself it lead into an excellent Country, in 
hopes that it may prove worthy the dignity, I called the 
River Ashley from the Right Hon'ble Anothony Lord Ash- 
ley, and to take away every little Remaine of forraigne 
title to this Province, I blotted out the name St. Romano 
putt before the next Easterly Cape, and writt Cape Cartrett 
in the roome, to evidence the more Reall Right of Sir 
George Cartrett, as he is a Lord Proprietor of Carolina." It 
thus appears that the brave and adventurous Mr. Robert 
Sandford, gave a name to one of our Rivers without 
having explored it, and nearly four years before it was en- 
tered by an Englishman, which name survives to this day — ■ 
while his patriotic purpose to affix the name of another 
Lord Proprietor on "tlie ne.xt Easterly Cape," has failed — 
Cape Romano survives, with the loss of only a single letter — 
being on the maps now as Cape Roman. 

In 1667 the Proprietors determined to found a Colony in 
the region explored by Sandford. The settlement was to be 
composed of emigrants from England, reinforced by others 

*Charleston Harbor. 



46 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

from Ireland, Barbadoes and the Bermudas. It seems to 
have required more than two years for preparations, and 
the extent and completeness of this undertaking may be 
inferred by the outlay of ^12,000 ($60,000), a large sum of 
money at that date, equal to (our times in present money 
values. 

To accomplish this, three vessels had been purchased and 
laden with stores, merchandise, munitions of war, and all 
equipments necessary for planting and propagating a 
Colony of 200 people, a number that was believed would 
be strong enough for self-protection and to begin a perma- 
nent settlement. On the 17th August, 1669, we find the 
frigate " Carolina'' the '^ Port Royally and the sloop " Albe- 
marle''' at anchor in the Downes with their crews, ninety- 
three passengers, and supplies of all kinds, all aboard and 
ready for sea. The copy of the original letter, which gives 
the names of those passengers embarking is most interest- 
ing, and an examination of the family names shows some 
surviving at this date. 

These for the Right Ho tile the Ldd Ashley att his house near Excetter House, in 
the Strande, London. 



FROM ABOARD THE "CAROLINA," 

Now Riding in the Downes, August the loth, 1669. 



May it please yo'r Lo'hp : This (after begging yo'r Honor's pardon) is to 
give yo'r Lo'hp a perfect accompt that we are with our shipps now ridinge att 
anker in the Downes. And may itt please yo'r Honor, I hope to yo'r Lo'hp 
satisfaccon, I have taken all the care I cann, although very troublesome to fitt 
out and make ready with w^hat expedicon I possible could, all the shipps now 
onely by the permission of the Almighty, expectinge a good winde and beinge 
well fitted with, and by the leave of God, I doe intende to waye and sett to 
sayle, expectinge under God a good anc] prosperous voyadge for Ireland into 
the Port of Kingsale, and upon our arrivall from thence yo'r Honor shall re- 
ceive a more fuller accompt than I att present cann give yo'r Lo'hp. I have 
here enclosed sent yo'r Honor a particular accompt of what passengers are 
aboard. First Masters and then Servants and then those persons that are 
single and have noe Servants, which, with yo'r Lo'hp's pardonn, is all at pres- 
ent from yo'r Lo'hp's most huml)!e and obediente Servant, 

JOSEPH WEST. 



Charleston — / 6yo-i8Sj . 



47 



A List of all such Masters, free Passengers and S'v't's, wliich are now 
aboard the Carolina, now ridinye in the Downes, August the lolh, 1669: 



Ralph ^[arshall. 
Rich. Allexander. 
The. Kinge. 
Eliz. Mathews. 

Robt. Done. 
The. Ingram. 
John Larmouth. 



CAl'T. SULLIVAN. 

James Montgomery. 
Stephen Wheelwright. 
Eliz. Dimmocke. 

STEP BULL. 

Burnaby Bull. 
Jonathan Barker. 
Dudley Widgier. 



ED. IIOLLLS AND [OS. DALTON. 

George Prideox. Thomas Vounge. 

Henry Price. Will. Chambers. 

John Dawson. Will. Roades. 

yVlfrd Hr-.rleston. Jane Lawson. 
Susanna Kinder. 

TIIO. (iHE First Landckave) and PAULE SMITH. 

Aice Ri,\e. Jo. Hudlesworth. 

Jo. Burroughs. Hugh Wigleston. 

Eliz. Smith. Andrew Boorne. 
Francis Ncone. 

HAMBLETON (JNO. HAMILTON). 



J'ho. Clourden. 
Jo. Frizen. 
Edw. Young. 
Samuel! Morris. 
Agnis Payne. 

Tho. Poole. 
Henry Burgen. 

Tho. Gubbs. 
Martin Bedson. 
Will Jenkins. 

Abra. Phillips. 
Mathew Hewitt. 



JO. 



Will. Lunisden. 
Stei). Flinte. 
Jo. Thomson. 
Tho. Southeli. 
Jo. Reed. 

RIVERS. 

Rob. Williams. 
Math. Smallwood 



NICH. CARTHWRIGHT. 
Jo. Loyde. 
Step. Price. 

MORRIS MATHEWS. 

Reighnold Barefoot. 



Eliz. Currle. 
WILL. BOWMAN. 
Abraham Suiith. Millicent Howe. 

DOCTOR WILL. SCRIVENER. 
Margaret Tuder. 



48 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

WILL. OWENS. 
John Humphreys. Christopher Swade. 

John Borley. 

THO. MIDDLETON— Euz. uxor ejus. 

, Rich. Wright. Tho. Wormes. 

SAMUELL WEST. 

Andrew Searle. Will. West. 

JOSEPH BAILEY. 

John Carmichaell. 

Passengers that have noe servants : 

Mr. Tho. Rideall. Mr. Will. Houghton. 

Mr. Will. Hennis. Mr. Tho. Humfreys. 

Eliz. Humphreys. Marie Gierke. 

Sampson Darkenwell. Nathanyell Darkenwell. 

Mrs. Sarah Erpe. Eliz. Erpe, 

Martha Powell. Mrs. Mary Erpe. 
Thomas Motteshed. 

The anniversary by which we are assembled, carrie.s us in 
memory to that landing on the Ashley in 1670, from which 
small settlement, despite wars, disease and great privations, 
has grown up in the environment of Province, Colony and 
State, this city and people, who, from the earliest times 
down through all the governmental changes since, in peace 
and in war, have borne themselves always on the highest 
plane of honor and duty. 

Our first thoughts, then, are of those earliest emigrants, 
pioneers in "the settlement of an immense hunting ground, 
filled with wild animals, overgrown with forests, partly 
covered with swamps, and roamed over rather than inhab- 
ited, by a great number of savage tribes, subsisting on the 
chase, and accustomed to war among each other." In the 
midst of such conditions these colonists laid the founda- 
tion, and their descendants reared this noted city; enduring 
hardships, facing the Indian and the wild beast, and at times 
pestilence and famine. They were plain, earnest, hard- 
working people, who had left native land and crossed the 
ocean ; their compelling motive, the enjoyment of civil and 
religious liberty; their hope, to secure a larger opportunity 
of life, and work for themselves and children. 



Charleston — i6yo-i88j. 49 

In the latter part of August, 1669, these three vessels, 
the Carolina, Fort Roy all and Albemarle, sailed from Eng- 
land and arrived at Kingsayle, Ireland, about 1st Septem- 
ber. Here they hoped to find additional colonists, but 
after being detained, by adverse winds, longer than they 
anticipated, were much disappointed, and they departed on 
the 1 8th of September, having secured only seven persons. 

From Kingsayle their prows were turned Westward and 
Southward for the island of Barbadoes, which they reached 
late in October following. This objective point of the 
voyage is explained by the fact that the planters of Barba- 
does had previously taken an interest in the intended new 
settlement, and had furnished means to that end. 

Sir Peter Colleton, one of the Proprietors, was a large 
planter in Barbadoes, and his brother, Thos. Colleton, (who 
lived there) was the person to whom the expedition was 
" consigned." Sir John Yeamans (on account of his expe- 
rience in Colonies) had been appointed Governor in 1665, 
to make the adventure ; but his ill success with his Cape 
Fear Colony had cooled the fervor of the Proprietors, who, 
though they recommended the expedition to his care and 
assistance, did not re-appoint him its Governor, but sent a 
blank commission to be filled according to circumstances. 

This island was over-populated, and the inhabitants were 
continually leaving for the Bahamas and other Islands, in 
quest of planting lands. It was thought that over 100 in- 
habitants for settling new plantations could be secured here. 
The Barbadian planters had been for years anxious to make 
the settlement, and many of the chief planters had, some 
years before, offered to join in it, and had subscribed 
one or more thousand pounds towards the discovery, &c. 
For which they were to have lands, &c.; see Barbadoes Con- 
cessions, List of Adventurers in Mr. Saulsbury's Report, 
Council Journals, &c. 

While lying here, a gale struck the fleet, and on 2d Novem- 
ber, 1869, the Albemarle was driven on the rocks of the coast 
and shipwrecked. One of the cables of the Carolina was 
also broken, and the Port Royal lost an anchor and a cable. 

n 



50 TJic Centennial of Ineorporation. 

To save the ships' stores for the remaining voyage, many 
were put ashore until the 23d, when repairs could be com- 
pleted and another sloop hired to continue the journey. 
Another vessel was procured in place of the Albemarle. 

The fleet sailed from Barbadoes for Port Royal, for Jos. 
West, writing from Barbadoes to Lord Ashley, says : " The 
People here seemingly show a great inclinacon for Porte 
Royall. Sir Jno. Yeamans being resolved to goe downe 
doth give good encouradgm't, and will hope to make our 
complem't of 200 persons." The next place, however, at 
which we find the Carolina, is Bermuda Island. 

Leaving Barbadoes, and meeting with bad weather, the 
Port Royal wa.'?, forced to put in at Nevis, a British West 
India Island, in latitude 17° 14' N., where Sir Jno. Yea- 
mans put on board one Christopher Barrowe, with instruc- 
tions to pilot the ship to Port Royal. From Nevis they 
had good weather until near land, when they were parted 
from the fleet. For six weeks they were beating from place 
to place by reason of bad weather, being three times driven 
off land and nearly perishing for water. 

By advice of Barrowe they sailed Southward for fair 
weather and endeavored to touch at the Bahama Islands. 
Near the Island of Munjake, near Abaco, one of the Ba- 
hamas, they were cast away I2th January, i66-^. By 
means of the small boat all were put safely on shore, but 
many lost their lives on the Island. Here Russell, the 
Master of the Port Royal, built a boat with which they got 
to the Island of Eleuthera, another of the Bahamas, where 
he hired a shallop and sailed to New Providence, whence 
most got transportation to Bermuda. The rest they left at 
Providence, except Barrowe and his wife, who went to New 
York. 

At Bermuda Sir John Yeamans wholly withdrew from 
the management of the expedition, and persuadeel the ad- 
venturers to take Col. Wm. Sayle, "a man of no great 
sufficiency, yet the ablest I could then meet with," as he 
describes him, to accept the office of Governor to the new 
Colony, and caused his name to be inserted in a blank com- 



Charleston — i6jo-i88j. 51 

mission which he had from the Lords Proprietors, assigning 
as his reason for this course, that he was " obliged to return 
to Barbadoes to be in readiness to act as one of the 
commissioners, previously appointed, for negotiating with 
French commissioners the affair of St. Christopher."'" 

Also, that Sayle being aBermudian, he thought it might 
induce others of that Island to embark. This gave rise to 
much discontent, and two of the party in particular, Wm. 
Scrivener and Wm. Owens, were for bringing suit against 
Sir John, but the matter was " salved over," and the expe- 
dition sailed from Berm.uda 26th February, 166^^^, a sloop 
having been procured here in place of the Port Royal. 

After leaving Bermuda the expedition encountered bad 
weather again and were once more separated, the Carolina 
and the Bermuda sloop seeming to keep near each other, 
but the Barbadian sloop had a separate experience of her 
own, not coming up with the other vessels until about 
the 23d May, and more than a month after their arrival at 
Albemarle Point, Ashley River. 

Mr. Carteret, who was in the Carolina, gives the follow- 
ing account of her trip from Bermuda : 

"Sayling thence, on Feb'y 26th, we came up with land 
between Cape Romano and Port Royall at a place called 
' Sowee ' or * Sewee,' and next day brought the ship in, 
through a very handsome channel and lay there at anchor 
a week." 

From a careful examination of the oldest maps available, 
I conclude that this locality was what is now Bull's Bay. 
The Indians told them that the " Westoes " had " ruin- 
ated " St. Helena, and the country Northward as far as 
Kiawah (Ashley River), about a day's journey distant. 

We have recorded the visit of the " Cassique " from 
Kywaha in Sandford's vessel in 1666, when at Edistoh, South 
of the Ashley, over three years previous, and it is certainly 

* Another writer describes Governor Sayle as " of Bermuda, a Puritan and 
non-Conformist, whose religious bigotry, advanced age and failing health prom- 
ised badly for the discharge of the task before him." 



52 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

a curious coincidence that at " Sewee," North of the Ash- 
ley, we should find in the later account this statement : 

" The Cassique of Kiawah, and most of his people soon 
came, to the vicinity of the ships, and were loud in their 
praises of Kiawah. Taking him aboard, after a conference, 
they left their anchorage and sailed to the Southward, and 
entered Port Royal River. It was two days before they 
could communicate with the Indians who confirmed what 
had been told at Sewee." 

Was it one and the same Indian chief that made the 
voyages to Port Royal, with two different parties of English 
with an interval of nearly four years, telling to each, captivat- 
ing stories of the richness of the lands of Kiawah, and if 
this be so, is it not singular that his declared purpose in 
i66/^ should have been accomplished in 1670? 

THE FIRST ELECTION IN CAROLINA. 

During their short stay at and near Port Royal, perhaps 
while at St. Helena Island, it is interesting to note that the 
first election held in Carolina took place. The record 
says the Governor summoned all the freemen to elect five 
men " to be of the Council." Wm. Owens, who by this 
time had developed into an active politician, was " wholey 
rejected," and the freeholders chose as their representatives, 
Paul Smith, Robert Done, Ralph Marshall, Samuel West 
and Joseph Dalton, " which accordingly was recorded." 
These were the first Commissioners elected by the Colonists 
at their landing. But Wm, Owens, " always itching to be 
in authority," censured the legality of the election, where- 
upon, the freeholders, or the major part of them, met a 
second time and confirnied their former election, " by sub- 
scribing of their severall names." They then left Port 
Royal and ran in between St. Helena Island and Combahee. 
Many went ashore at St. Helena, and found the land good 
and many peach trees. From this point the Bermuda sloop 
was dispatched to Kiawah to view that land, so much com- 



Charleston — i6yo-i88j. 53 

mended by the Caseeka, and word was brought back that 
the land there was better to plant, and the matter was dis- 
cussed whether to remove there or not. The Governor favor- 
ing Kiawah, it was determined to land permanently there, 
and weighing anchor the vessels stood to the Northward, 
and entering the Ashley, the Colony landed at " Albe- 
marle Point." This must have been in April, niaking al- 
lowance for the time spent to the Southward. 

Mr. Morris Mathews' account, who was in the Barba- 
dian sloop, procured to supply the place of the Albemarle, 
which was lost at Barbadoes, enables us to follow this sloop 
in her perils, after leaving l^ermuda. 

On 15th May, through stress of weather, she was forced 
into the Island of St. Katherina, about latitude 31° where 
they proceed to " wood and water" the vessel. They traded 
with the Indians, and entertained them aboard the vessel. 
On the next day, a semi-Spaniard Indian came aboard with 
a present of bread, &c., for the Master, and promised pork 
in exchange for truck. Upon the 17th inst., the Master 
and mate and Mr, Rivers, three seamen and one man-ser- 
vant, went ashore with truck, to buy pork for the sloop's 
use. Also, two men servants went to cut wood, and two 
females to wash linen. The Spaniards and Indians treach- 
erously made prisoners of a part or all ashore, and com- 
manded the sloop " to yield to the sovereignty of St. 
Domingo." This demand wris politely declined, on the 
ground that there was neither wind with which to bring 
the vessel in, nor small boat with which to come ashore. 
Tiicy importuned for the release of their Captain and the 
other prisoners, but all to no purpose. The Spaniards and 
Indians, finding that their orders were not to be obeyed, 
opened fire from the shore with their muskets and bows, 
but only succeeded in damaging the vessel's sails. The 
next day, a favorable wind springing up, the men aboard 
the sloop gave the Indians a parting salute witli their mus- 
kets, which sent them all behind the trees, and hauled the 
ship out of gun-shot. Leaving this Island, several days 
were spent in sailing about the Carolina coast, until they 



54 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

arrived opposite what proved to be Odistash. Here the 
Indians welcomed tliem, told them of the English at Kia- 
wah, and also of one Captain Sheedon and Captain Alush 
ashore, who desired to speak with them. This Sheedon 
may have been the Shadoo spoken of by Hilton. They 
here met Captain Sheedon and Captain Alush (who were at 
Barbadoes), and many more. This Sheedon told them 
that "Ye English with two shipps had been at Port Royall 
and were now at Keyawah," and offered to show them the 
way over. The next morning they arrived at the entrance 
to Keyawah. where they met the Rermudian sloop going out 
fishing, which piloted them into Keyawah River. The 
prisoners taken by the Spaniards had been subsequently 
sent to St. Augustine. 

The colonists were once more united. Two out of the 
three ships that sailed from the Thames had gone to bot- 
tom and some lives had been lost. Just how many of the 
original settlers arrived at Kiawah, vve are unable to ascer- 
tain from the papers before us. Besides, others were taken 
aboard at Barbadoes and probably at Bermuda also. One 
ship only of the original expedition reached the desired 
port. Five vessels, at least, had been employed in landing 
the colonists at Kiawah from the time they left the 
Thames. In May, 1670, the Carolina was sent to Virginia 
for provisions, and on the 27th day of June the Barbadoes 
shallop was sent to Bermuda, possibly for settlers or on a 
similar errand for supplies. The Carolina returned on the 
22d of August to Kiawah, and early in September was sent 
to Barbadoes, where she was in November, and whence she 
returned early in the new year with sixty-four new settlers, 
\\\fiJohn and Thomas bringing forty-two more. So it appears 
that a very ingenious Indian chief, the Cassique of Kiawah, 
who has not been known before as an historical character, 
is responsible for the final location on the Ashley, which, 
early in 1671, numbered over two hundred inhabitants, and 
was called in honor of the reigning King, Charles Town. 



CJui r lest on — i6jo-i 88j . 5 5 

WANT OF A CLERGYMAN. 

A glimpse of the affairs of the Httle Colony in the first 
weeks of their new life, is presented in the following letter 
and narrative : 

Aldemarle Point, June 25th, 1670. 

Governor Saylc to Lord AsliLy : 

"Though we are (att pr'sent) under some straight for 
want of provision (incident to the best of new plantations), 
yet we doubt not (through the goodness of God) of remits 
from sundry places to w'ch we have sent. But there is one 
thing which lyes very he, ivy upon us. the want of a Godly 
and orthodox Minist'r w'ch I and many others of us have 
ever lived under, as the greatest of o'r Mercvs. May it 
please your Lords'p in my late country of Bermudas, there 
are divers iMinist'rs of whom there is one Mr. Sampson 
Bond heretofore of long standing in Exeter Colledge in 
Oxford, and ordaigned by the late Bishop of Exeter, the 
the ole Do'r Joseph Hall. And by a commission from the 
Earl of Manchester and company for the Sumer Islands 
sent theere in the yeere 1662. for the term of three 
yeeres, under whose powerfull and soul-edefying Min- 
istry I have lived about eight yeeres last past : There was 
nothing in all this world soe grievous to my spirit, as the 
thought of parting with his Godly society and faithfull 
ministry. But I did a little comfort myself that it mio^ht 
please y'r Lord by some good measures or other to enclyne 
his heart to come after us, who hath little respect from 
some who are now in authority in Bermudas w'ch is a great 
discouragm'nt to him, w'ch is taken notice off in other 
places, and he is invited to Boston in New England and 
to New York by the Govern'r there with tenders of large 
encouragement if he will come to ye one or other place. 
I have likewise writt most earnestly to him desirino- that 
he would come and sitt downe with us, assuring him that 
it is not only my urgent request but withall the most 
hearty request of ye Colony in generall, who were exceed- 



56 • IJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

ingly affected with him and his ministry all the tyme they 
were in Bermudas." 

The Lords Proprietors authorized an offer being made 
to Mr. Bond of 5'oo acres of land and £\o per annum to 
come to Carolina, but we have not discovered that he ever 
accepted the same. 

FIRST ATTEMPT AT A PARLIAMENT, AND THE EARLIEST 
POLITICIAN IN CAROLINA. 

The coincidence of date is again remarkable, as the narra- 
tive reads that "On 4th July 1670 the Gov'r and Council 
having been informed ' how much the Sabbath day was pro- 
phanely violated, and of divers other grand abuses practiced 
by the people to the great dishonor of God Almighty and the 
destruction of good neighborhood,' did 'seriously consid- 
er,' by which way or means the same might be redressed — 
but finding the number of freeholders in the Colony ' nott 
neere sufficient to elect a Parliam't,' the Gov'r with the 
consent of his Council made such orders as were thought 
convenient to suppress the abuses, and summoned all the 
people to hear the orders; all t\\Q freemen consenting there- 
unto, the orders were published. Whereupon, Wm. Owens, 
' willing to doe any thing, though ever so ill in itt selfe, 
rather than not to apeare to be a man of accon (action), 
persuaded the people, that without a Parliament, no such 
orders ought or could passe.' While the Gov'r and Coun- 
cil were discussing this and other matters he persuaded the 
people to elect a Parliament among themselves, which they 
did and retiirned to the said Governor. But after the 
names of the elect had been taken down, by Wm. Owens, it 
is recorded, they left him and his paper, without taking 
further notice of him, or their own 'election into dignity.' 

This was the first attempt at a Parliament. 

DEATH OF GOVERNOR SAYLE. 

It is curious that in those early days the dates of 4th 
March and 4th July should mark important events. The 
Governor died on the 4th March, 167 1, aged about 80 years. 




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Charleston — i6yo-iS8j. 57 

A very short time before his death he nominated Joseph 
West as his successor, then the leading man in the Colony. 
This action was ratified by the Council after Sayle's death, 
until they could hear from the Lords Proprietors. They 
strongly opposed Sir John Yeamans' appointment, as he 
had abandoned them in their distress at Bermuda. Never- 
theless he arrived with a commission as Governor, and was 
" disgusted that the people did not incline to salute him as 
Governor." Then followed the first disagreement in the 
Colony, growing out of the rivalry between Yeamans and 
West, the dissolution of the first Parliament and a popular 
discontent which found expression in the declaration that 
" Sir John intended to make this a Cape Feare settlement." 
Yeamans finally entered upon his duties as Governor, as 
West was made " Register of the Province." 

The map hereto annexed is curious in many respects, and 
interesting for the names of the land-holders printed thereon, 
on both sides of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. The exact 
date cannot be ascertained, but it was doubtless previous 
to 1700. 

POPULATION AND ITS SOURCES. 

No reader of the history of Europe in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries can be otherwise than impressed 
with the religious agitations that marked that period. 
The religious troubles consequent upon the separation of 
Luther and his followers from the See of Rome, were felt 
in many countries of Western Europe, and one hundred 
and twenty years after Luther's historic interview with 
the Emperor Charles V, at Worms, the author of Paradise 
Lost wrote his plaintive lamentation concerning the reli- 
gious status of the people of Christian England. " What 
numbers of faithful free-born Englishmen and good Chris- 
tians have been constrained to forsake their dearest home, 
their friends and kindred, whom nothing but the wide 
ocean and the savage deserts of America could hide and 
shelter from the fury of the Bishops ! Oh, if we could 
but see the shape of our dear Mother Country, as poets 
are wont to give her a personal form to what they 
8 



58 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

please, how could she appear, think ye, but in mourning 
weeds, with ashes upon her head, and tears abundantly 
flowing from her eyes, to behold so many of her children 
exposed at once and thrust from things of dearest neces- 
sity, because their conscience could not assent to things 
which the Bishops thought indifferent. * * * * * 
I shall believe there cannot be a more ill-boding sign to a 
nation than when the inhabitants, to avoid insufferable 
grievances at home, are enforced, by heaps, to forsake their 
native country." 

In the causes which led to the rapid peopling of our 
country, this utterance of Milton is full of significance, and 
the story of the flow of population to America might be 
correctly written by denominations. Our purpose, however, 
is only to state this as a potent factor in the great West- 
ward bound current of population, and endeavor to show 
the sources as well as the growth of population in our city. 

However easy this may seem, it is full of difficulties. . 
Charles Town was the port of the Province, and through it 
thousands passed to the interior of Carolina and to Georgia, 
so that it has been a work of great labor to gather approxi- 
mately correct information from numerous scattered authori- 
ties as to the numbers and composition of the town popu- 
lation. 

The colonists under Governor Sayle, as already stated, 
left England in August, 1669, and, as appointed, stopped 
at Kingsale, Ireland, and the Barbadoes ; sailing thence, 
the fleet was scattered and driven by stress of weather to 
Bermuda and other points, and finally in March, 1670, 
seven months after leaving the Thames, looked for the first 
time upon the coast of Carolina, and in the following- 
month, after several changes, finally settled on the Ashley. 
The first settlers then were English and Irish, and the in- 
ference from the tenor of these Shaftesbury papers is, that 
the long stay at the English Islands where they stopped 
was partly for the purpose of augmenting their numbers, 
but nothing is known of the nationality of those who may 
have joined the ships there. 



Charleston — idyo-iSSj. 59 

The first German that set foot in Carolina was John Led- 
erer, who was sent by Governor VViUiam Berkeley, of Vir- 
t^inia, to explore the lands lying South and West of James 
River; from his map of the country which he explored, as 
well as from his journal, we learn that he passed through 
North Carolina, and as far South as the Santee River in 
South Carolina. He was a man of learning; his journal 
was written in the Latin language, and his map indicates a 
knowledge of geographical calculation. The translator of 
his journal, Sir William Talbot, Governor of Maryland, also 
speaks highly of his literary attainments. 

Lederer made his journey through the primeval forests, 
inhabited by Indians, alone with a single Indian guide. In 
his journal is this entry : "On 20th May, 1670, with Maj. 
Harris and 20 Christian horsemen and five Indian Guides, 
marched from the falls of James River Southward : On 3d 
June I moved to cross a River to continue our journey, but 
the rest of the Company were so weary of the Enterprise, 
that they abandoned it: On the 5th June my company 
and I parted, good friends — they back again and I with 
only one Susquehanna Indian, to pursue my first enter- 
prise." Had he crossed the Santee and reached the Ashley, 
he would have found Governor Sayle and his Colony only 
just arrived. 

The account of this journey was published and circulated, 
and doubtless had its effect in the settling of Carolina, for 
it is certain "that in 1680 German emigration had fairly 
set in." It is worth considering, if this knowledge of the 
practicability of journeying Southward by land from the 
older Colonies North may not account for the subsequent 
overland movement of population into Upper South Caro- 
lina, and into the Eastern sections of the State, small at 
first, but which, before the Revolutionary war, had grown 
large enough to extensively occupy the lands as far as the 
Upper and Western boundary of South Carolina on the 
Savannah River. 

Early in 1671, the Carolina Packet arrived from Barba- 
does with 64 new settlers, the John and Thotiias bringing in 
42, as previously mentioned. 



6o The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Under date 20th January, 167^, we find the following 
definite infornnation, as to population, in the correspon- 
dence of Secretary Jos. Dalton. To Lord Ashley he writes : 
" By our records it appears that 337 men and women, 62 
children, or persons under 16 yrs of age, is the full num- 
ber of persons who have arrived in this country, in and 
since \.\\q first fleet out of England to this day, whereof 43 
men, 2 women, 3 children are dead, and 16 absent, so 
as there now remains 263 men able to beare arms, 69 wo- 
men, 59 children or persons under 16 yrs of age." Here, 
in a nutshell, was the status of the Colony furnished by 
the Recording Officer to the Proprietor, about twenty 
months after the first landing. The plant had taken root, 
and it was growing steadily; the winds of adversity had 
only fixed its hold firmly in the soil. 

In August, 1671, the Proprietors' ship Blessing, arrived 
from England, "bringing several families," for whom a 
town was proposed to be laid out on the Stono River, West 
of Charles Town. During the same month Capt. Halsted 
sailed for New York, and returned in December with a com- 
pany of emigrants from the Dutch settlement of Nova 
Belgia."^ A number of families also arrived in the Pro- 
prietors' ship Phce?iix, from the same Province, and were 
assigned land " to the Southwest on the Ashley," believed 
to be on James Island, where they laid out land and called 

* We find the following entry under date of 5th September, 1671, locating 
the Dutch settlement of " James Towne " : "5 September 1671. At a meet- 
ing of the Governour & Councill, on consideration of what disposal should be 
made of the people arrived in the Lords Proprietors' ship Blessing, agreable 
to the Lords Proprietors' directions. Ordered, a certayne parcell of land con- 
teyneng five and twenty acres Westward from the marsh joyning to the West 
side of the land laid out for Mr. Thomas Gray, nere this Towne, and soe run- 
ning along Stonoe Creeke be layed out for the Towne, whereof five acres shall 
be reserved for a church yard, and the rest of the land backward on the said 
marsh be preserved for planting lotts for the said people and others who shall 
hereafter arrive to settle there. And it is further ordered, that the said people 
shall forthwith goe and settle their several proportions of land alotted to them 
in and about the said Towne (that is to saye) four poles of land within the 
Towne for a Towne lott, and five acres without the Towne for a planting lott 
for every person in each family. — Journal of Grand Councill." 



Charleston — i6yo-iS8j. 6[ 

it James Town. This settlement was in after years aban- 
doned, and these Dutch settlers spread themselves through 
the other settlements. This was the first Colony of Dutch 
which settled here. Their first home in America having 
been conquered by the English, they abandoned New York 
and came to Carolina. " Their industry surmounted in- 
credible hardships, and their success induced many to join 
them here from Ancient Belgia." 

In 1619 a Dutch man-of-war landed in the English Colony 
of Virginia twenty negroes, who were sold as slaves for life. 
"Fifty-three years after, on the igth April, 1672, Sir John 
Veamans entered upon his duties as Governor of Carolina, 
having brought with him from the English Colony of Bar- 
badoes the first negro slaves who were seen in Carolina." 
It is important to fix these dates and circumstances in the 
subsequent consideration of the subject of population. 

The new Governor's entrance upon office was also sig- 
nalized by several important measures. The one in which 
we are most interested is his order, of date July 20, 1672, 
"laying out of a town at 'Oyster Point,' the present site 
of Charleston," which had been decided upon in the prece- 
ding year, and had been first suggested by Governor Sayle. 

In the same year " certain persons in Ireland received 
overtures from the Proprietors in which they conceded to 
them the free exercise of their religion according to their 
own discipline." Nothing authoritative can be stated of the 
religious opinions or numbers of those settlers, but it is 
believed, from cotemporary references and other circum- 
stantial evidence, that they were the first aggregate of Irish 
Roman Catholics who came here. 

In 1682 Landgraves Morton and Axtell induced immigra- 
tion to a large extent — five hundred persons arriving in one 
month "including many persons of good estate." 

During the gubernatorial term of Sir Richard Kyrle, of 
Ireland, there was a considerable movement from Ireland, 
" under the guidance of Ferguson, which mingled at once 
with the mass of the inhabitants of Charleston." 

" During several years immediately preceding this date 



62 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

(1683) we begin to recognize more and more distinctly the ac- 
cession of French Protestants. In the redistribution of lots 
in Old Charlestown, July 22d, 1672, Richard Batin, Jacques 
Jours and Richard Deyos received town lots with other free- 
holders. In 1677 grants were made to John Batton ; in 
1678 to Jean Bazant and Richard Gaillard ; to John Monke 
in 1682, and in 1683 to Marie Batton, wife of Jean Batton 
(ci-devant Mary Fosteen). In 1679 the petition of Rene 
Petit for transporting French Protestant families to Caro- 
lina, came before the Committee of Trade and Plantations, 
in the Council Chamber at Whitehall, and on the 2gth of 
October the petition was granted, and his Majesty Charles 
II gave orders for fitting out two suitable ships for their 
conveyance.* One of these vessels was the frigate Rich- 
mond, which arrived in 1680, bringing out forty-five French 
refugees. Charles himself bore the expense of their trans- 
portation. A more considerable number soon followed in 
another vessel, also at the expense of the government. It 
was expected that these French Colonists would be speci- 
ally useful to the Province by introducing the manufacture 
of silk and the culture of the olive and vine, but this expecta- 
tion was not realized." 

The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 resulted in 
a large addition of population directly from France, and a con- 
siderable number after a short residence in the Northern 
countries of Europe and in New York and other Northern 
Colonies, repaired to Carolina as having a climate more simi- 
lar to the one from which they had been driven. Carolina 
then became a general place of rendezvous for French Protes- 
tants. A considerable number remained in Charleston, but 
very many settled on the Santee and Cooper Rivers, and 
soon became influential in all that section of the country. 
"Their church was in Charlestown, thither they repaired 

*N. C. B. T., Book II (1679, December 17, Whitehall), Vol. I, page 102. 
" To the Governor and Council of Ashley River: Recommended to their care 
several families of foreign Protestants who leave with this despatch to settle 
in Carolina, as jjcing skilled in the manufacture of certain commodities, may 
instruct the English settlers. * * * a grant to Mr. Rene Petit and Jacob 
Grenard of 4000 acres of land each." 



Charleston — i6yo-i8Sj. 63 

every Sunday from their plantations on Cooper River. They 
could be seen, profiting by the tide, arriving by families, in 
their canoes, at the public landing at the foot of Queen 
Street, preserving a religious silence, which was alone inter- 
rupted by the noise of their oars." 

In 1686 there were four Huguenot settlements in Caroli- 
na : at Charles-Town, S.mtee River. St. John's Berkeley and 
Cooper River. Lawson, Surveyor-General, who visited these 
settlements in 1700, speaks of the French colonists in high- 
est terms of praise. There has not been, throughout the 
two centuries since they first came, any better citizenship 
than has been shown through their seven generations, and 
if they had only contributed Francis Marion to South Caro- 
lina and the Union, they would have won distinction. The 
lot on which the present or fourth church building stands, at 
the corner of Church and Queen Streets, is doubtless the old- 
est continuous title in occupancy and ownership in the city. 

In 1680 Lord Cardross took measures for establishinc- a 
Colony in Carolina, with a view to furnish a place of refuge 
to his persecuted brethren. This was destined to Port 
Royal, as the following paragraph from the records in 
London shows : 

" Several Scotch going from Glasgow to Carolina, are to 
be permitted to settle at Port Royal, if they so desire, and 
land to be accorded to them conformably to an agreement 
(heretofore forwarded) with Sir John Cockram and Sir 
George Campbell, but in the event of their settling among 
the English, are to be assigned land upon the same terms 
as all others who come and settle in the Province. Desire 
that they may receive all manner of countenance." 

" In consequence of an invasion by the Spaniards, the 
Colony abandoned their lands in 1688.* Many, however, 

* In the report of the Committee to the Commons House of Assembly, inade 
in 1741, on the Oglethorpe expedition to St. Augustine, the Committee in 
assigning reasons for that expedition, inter alia assign : " In i6S6, peace still 
subsisting, the Lord Eadross ( ? Cardross) who had obtained from the Lords 
Proprietors a Grant v^f a large Tract of land in Granville County, having just 
before come over and settled at Beaufort on Port Royal with a number of 
North Britains, the Spaniards coming in 3 gallies from Augustine landed upon 
them, killed and whipped a great many after taken in a most cruel and bar- 
barous manner plundered them all and broke up that settlement." 



64 The Centc7inial of Incorporation. 

remained in Carolina, who were gathered into congregations 
under the care of Presbyters, which continued to exist until 
about the close of the eighteenth century. The only one 
now surviving is the old " Scots Church in Charleston." 

This element of Charleston's population must have al- 
ways been prominent, for the earliest benevolent society, 
" The St. Andrews," was founded in 1729, and has had a 
continuous existence ever since. 

Between 171 5 and 1745 there were accessions from Scot- 
land, a number of the vanquished Highlanders voluntarily 
seeking an asylum here. 

It was natural that, under the oppressions incident to the 
times, the thoughts of the persecuted Quakers should turn 
to a new world, and five years after the settlement on the 
Ashley, we find the first Quakers arriving under the patron- 
age of the Earl of Shaftesbury himself, whose letter of intro- 
duction is hereto appended. 

Letter from Shaftesbury to Mr. Percivall, 9th June, 1675, 
fixes the date of the first departure of " Friends " for 
Charles Town : 

Mr. Percivall — There come now in my dogger, Jacob 
Waite and two or three other familys of those who are called 
Quakers. These are but the Harbengers of a greater num- 
ber that intend to follow. 'Tis there purpose to take up a 
whole Colony for themselves and theire Friends here, they 
promised me to build a town of 30 Houses. 1 have writ 
to the Gov'r and councill about them and directed them to 
set them out 12,000 acres. I would have you be very kind 
to them and give them all the assistance you can in the 
choice of a place or anything else that may conduce to 
theire convenient settlement, for they are people I have a 
great regard to and am obliged to care of. I am 
Your very affectionate friend 

SHAFTESBURY. 
To Mr. Percivall of St. Giles Plant aeon, on Ashley River in 
Carolina. 

The same day, Shaftesbury wrote to the Council direct- 
ing them to " grant these people a Colony of 12,000 acres, on 



Charleston — i6jo-iS8j. 65 

condition that within 5 years they build a town of 30 
houses and 100 inhabitants at the least, to each of which 
houses must belong as a home lot 3 score acres inseparably 
forever, which 3 score acres belonging to each house, they 
are to have, each householder as he comes, immediately in 
possession." 

In 1696 John Archdale, a Quaker, was appointed Gov- 
ernor, but seems to have served only a few months. That 
their peculiar religious views were publicly respected, I 
quote from one of the earliest public Acts: " And whereas 
there be several inhabitants called Quakers who upon a con- 
scientious principle of Religion, cannot bear arms, and 
because in certain civil matters, they have been persons 
obedient to Government and very Ready to disburse their 
monies in other necessary and public duties — Be it there- 
fore Enacted that all such whom the present Gov'r John 
Archdale Esq shall judge, that they refuse to bear arms on 
a conscientious principle of Religion, only shall by a cer- 
tificate from him be excused." Shecut says : 

" The Friends or Qjcaker Meeting House wdiSsxtn'AtGd with- 
out the limits of the town, on the West border of Governor 
Arehdale s Square, which occupied the greater proportion 
of the land from Meeting to King Street and from Queen 
to Broad Street. The Meeting House occupied the same 
site on which their present house of worship now stands ; 
the date of its erection is not mentioned by any I have 
consulted, but it is presumed to have been built shortly 
after the arrival of Gov. Archdale in 1696, the Governor 
himself being a Quaker." 

This " Quaker Lot " on King Street, just South of Queen 
Street, is a most interesting locality. It forms part of Gov- 
ernor Archdale's Square, and the occupancy and title date 
back to among the oldest, without change, in the city. A 
very interesting narrative prepared by Mr. Chas. J. Allen, 
of Philadelphia, says: "(1718). After having made use of 
the lot of ground for a considerable number of years, with- 
out any regular title or fee in it, Friends in London applied 
9 



66 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

to the King in Council to have the property duly vested ;" 
and this was granted. At least three separate houses of 
worship have' been erected on this lot ; the last was built in 
1856, at a cost of $3,751.46, and destroyed by fire in 1861. 
There are several graves in the lot, but it has long since 
ceased to be used for its original purpose. The dwelling 
house in the rear is rented out. 

The late Rev. George Howe, D. D., gives the following 
interesting picture of the population of Carolina in 1685 : 

" Fifteen years have now passed since the first permanent 
settlement of Europeans was made within the bounds of 
South Carolina. A population of about 2,500 persons have 
been transferred from the shores of the old Continent, and 
have established themselves here. A portion of them are 
of the Established Church of England, to which a majority 
of the Proprietors belonged. The large majority from the 
beginning have been Dissenters from that Church. They 
have come from various portions of Britain or its Colonies, 
and from France. They are of English, Irish, Scotch, 
French or Dutch extraction. They have almost all been 
disciplined in the school of affliction, and their sufferings 
have, to a large extent, resulted from the conscientious 
maintenance of their religious opinions against the pos- 
sessors of influence and power. The majority of them 
have high and just ideas of personal responsibility, and of 
civil and religious freedom. They have come to these 
shores, some to better their condition in things temporal, 
the majority of those dissenting from the English Church, 
tor freedom to worship God ; some, voluntarily, to escape 
bitter persecution, and others banished for religion's sake 
to a savage wilderness. They have been obliged thus far 
to contend with those inconveniences incident to first set- 
tlers in a new country, in a trying climate, with everything 
to learn, and surrounded by a savage foe." 

In 1686 the leading elements of population, classed 
denominatively, were English Churchmen, Scotch and Irish 
Presbyterians, Dutch and German Lutherans, French Cal- 
vinists, a few Irish Catholics, and Quakers. There were 



Charleston — i6jo-iS8j. 67 

also various other small elements of population from Ber- 
muda, the West Indies and elsewhere. It is hard to ascer- 
tain the relative numbers of each, as many had come singl)' 
in the numerous vessels arriving at Charles Town. To give 
some idea of these ship facilities for reaching this port, it 
may be stated that there were 16 vessels discharging and 
loading cargo at one time as early as 1680, ten years after 
the first landing. 

In 1696 there was a small accession of population from 
New England, mostly passing through Charles Town ; a 
party from Dorchester, Mass., under the Rev. Joseph Lord, 
settled in a body on the Ashley River, and the ruins of 
their fort and buildings may yet be seen near Summerville. 
No considerable groups of settlers are known to have emi- 
grated here between 1696 and 1730, but there was a constant 
gain in population by every arriving vessel. In 1704 the 
white population was between five and six thousand for the 
whole Province. It is impossible to state the numbers in 
the town with accuracy, but there were only four places of 
public worship, the Huguenot Church, the First Baptist 
Church, St. Philip's (Episcopal) Church, and the White 
Meeting (Presbyterian and Congregational) Church. 

During the first ten years on the Ashley, there was a 
steady increase of growth at " Oyster Point," and a steady 
decline at " Albemarle Point," which latter was officially 
abandoned in 1679 in favor of the new settlement. As 
there were only 2,500 people, including slaves, in the two 
Ashley River towns, and outside in different places, the 
numbers of any one denomination in either town may 
reasonably be supposed to have been very limited. The 
fundamental Constitution was liberal in construction as to 
numbers, for it authorized seven persons agreeing among 
themselves as to belief, &c.. to constitute a Church ; but, 
nevertheless, there is no authentic record of there having 
been a place of public worship in Charles Town previous 
to 1680. 

Between 1730 and 1750 a great addition was made to the 
population of the Colony, from Switzerland, Holland and 



68 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

Germany. The dreadful war wliich scourged the peaceful 
inhabitants of the Palatinate for so many years drove thou- 
sands to America : a portion came here. The vessels that 
brought them to Charles Town made profitable voyages, 
because of the full outward cargoes always offering. 

When the Province of Nova Scotia, originall}/ settled by 
the French, was surrendered to the English, by the peace 
of Utrecht, it was stipulated for the inhabitants that they 
should hold their lands on condition of taking the oath of 
allegiance to their new sovereign. With this condition they 
refused to comply, without annexing a qualification that 
they should not bear arms — this was allowed by the military 
commander, but subsequently disallowed by the crown. 

In the struggle between France and England for Ameri- 
can territory, beginning in 1755, the continuance of Acadian 
Neutrals in Nova Scotia was not regarded favorably. To 
expel them from the country with choice of residence, would 
be to reinforce the French in Canada. It was finally de- 
termined to adopt the severe policy of settling them in the 
English Provinces, and this harsh measure was forthwith 
put into execution, and about twelve hundred were sent to 
Charles Town. 

From the land of " the forest primeval, the murmuring 
pines and the hemlocks," these Acadian farmers were thrust 
forth from their peaceful homes by a Royal edict. 

" When on the falling tide the freighted vessels departed, 
Bearing a nation, with all its household goods, into exile. 
Exile without an end, and without an example in story. 
Far asunder, on separate coasts, the Acadians landed. 
Friendless, homeless, hopeless, they wandered from cily to city, 
From the cold lakes of the North to sultry Southern savannas." 

Some of those who came here ''achieved wealth and dis- 
tinction and remained in Carolina"; others as soon as peace 
was declared, left their new Southern homes and made their 
way back to their native land. 

"Only along the shore of the mournful Atlantic, 
Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers from exile 
Wandered back to their native land to die in its bosom." 



Charleston — idyo-iSSj. 69 

They were a frugal hard-working people, and for years 
some of them plied their vocation as fishermen in this har- 
bor, furnishing our markets with an abundant supply of fish. 

As early as 1740, there were several Jewish families in 
Charleston, and in 1750 they were sufficient in numbers to 
have a house of worship. This was located in Union, now 
State Street, near Queen Street; the Rev. Isaac de Costa 
was the first pastor, and the name of the congregation 
"Beth Elohim " is preserved to the present day. In 1757 
the congregation moved to a building No. 318 King Street, 
near Hasel Street, and there worshipped until 1780, when 
they again removed to a building in Hasel Street near the 
site of the present handsome Synagogue. This last location 
was purchased in 1795 from the heirs of Nicholas Trott. 

Ainong the names in the first congregation, with the pas- 
tor, I find the following: Isaac de Costa, Moses Cohen, 
Joseph and Meshod Tobias, M. Pementa, David D. Olivera, 
Abraham de Costa, Mordecai and Levy Shefftall, M. Laz- 
arus and Abraham N. Cardozo. 

These names are of foreign accent and are of different 
climes, and proclaim the far reaching hope, with which flee- 
ing the persecution and the hate of Europe, they sought the 
peace of home and fireside, civic freedom and religious 
libert)^ in this new world. 

" For in the background figures vague and vast 
Of Patriarchs and of Prophets rose sublime, 
And all the great traditions of the past, 
They saw reflected in the coming time." 

And a safe refuge it has proved to be where the ancient 
faith of the fathers might be the unmolested faith of the 
children from generation to generation — a hope realized in 
the hospitable city of their adoption, through all its history, 
to them even as to others. 

In the War of Independence, numbers were enrolled in 
the Army of the Revolution, and upon the formation of the 
government of the United States, the Jewish citizens of 
Charleston, New York, Richmond and Philadelphia united 



/O 'Tlie Centennial of Ineorporation. 

in presenting a congratulatory address to Wasliington as 
President of the United States, which was pubhcly ac- 
knowledged. 

In 1764 about 600 Palatines arrived here, having been 
aided to accomplish their journey by the liberality of pub- 
lic-spirited citizens of London, and the friendly aid of the 
King of England. In the same year there was a third arri- 
val of French Protestants under the Rev. Mr. Gilbert ; these 
finally settled in Abbeville, South Carolina. 

Dr. Ramsay, the historian of South Carolina, himself of 
Irish parentage, alluding to the large foreign Protestant 
immigration to Charleston, says : " Prior to the American 
Revolution in 1776, there were very few Roman Catholics 
in Charleston, and these had no ministry^ 

In a later edition of his history (1809), he says: " But of 
all other countries, none has furnished the Province with 
so many inhabitants as Ireland. Scarce a ship sailed from 
any of its ports for Charleston, that was not crowded with 
men, women and children. The bounty allowed to new 
settlers induced numbers of these people to resort to Caro- 
lina. The merchants finding this bounty equivalent to the 
expenses of the passage, persuaded the people to embark. 
Many causes may be assigned for this spirit of emigration 
from Ireland, but domestic oppression was the most power- 
ful and prevalent." The period alluded to is between 
1 784-1 809. 

The first Roman Catholics to arrive were Irish immi- 
grants, or " Redemptionists," as they were called, from 
having to work out, upon arrival, the expenses of their 
passage over. 

About 1786, a vessel bound for South America, having 
on board an Italian priest, put into Charleston and remained 
for a time. At the request of a few Irishmen, this priest 
celebrated Mass in an humble abode, to a congregation of 
about ttvelve persons. 

This was the first Mass celebrated in Charleston, and 
may be regarded as the introduction of the Catholic reli- 
crion to the States of North Carolina, South Carolina and 



Charleston — i6jo-iSSj. 71 

Georgia, which afterwards constituted the See of Cliarles- 
ton. 

l^\\c firsf church in this region was erected at Newberiie, 
in 1790, by the Gaston family. 

Father O'Reilly, a priest of Irish birth, was the next to 
exercise his ministr)' in behalf of the beginners. He arrived 
about two years after the Italian, but feeble health pre- 
vented his remaining long. Soon after the departure of 
Father O'Reilly, the Rev. Dr. Keating arrived, and entered 
upon the discharge of his priestly duties. 

In 1789, the Catholics, assisted by their fellow-citizens, 
purchased for a place of worship a small tract of land near 
to the town, now Hasel Street, containing an old Methodist 
Meeting House. This building was fitted up for divine ser- 
vice and called " St. Mary's." 

St. Mary's Church was incorporated by an Act of the 
Legislature in 1790, and in the following year, 1791, the 
Roman Catholic Church of Charleston was likewise incor- 
porated. 

During their dependent state, the Colonies derived their 
jurisdiction through the Vicar Apostolic of the London 
District, but after their independence was achieved, Balti- 
more was selected as a convenient location for an Epis- 
copal See. and the Rev. Jno. Carroll, consecrated on 15th 
August, 1790, was nominated her Bishop. His Diocese 
comprised the entire thirteen of the United States of 
America. 

In 1793, the Rev. S. F. O'Gallagher, a native of Dublin, 
arrived with authority from the Bishop of Baltimore to 
collect the scattered flock, and repair the house of worship 
which had almost crumbled into ruin. 

He removed the old wooden structure (in Hasel Street), 
and replaced it with a substantial brick building, which per- 
ished in the conflagration of 1838. After the destruction 
of the latter building, the present one, St. Marys, was 
erected. 

On the iith July, 1820, the Carolinas and Georgia were 
separated from the See of Baltimore and placed under the 



72 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

jurisdiction of a new See erected in Charleston, comprising 
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. 

The Rev. Dr. J no. England was appointed to the new 
See, and took possession in December of the same year 
(1820). He was \.\\q first Bishop of Charleston. Upon his 
arrival, the Bishop found only two churches occupied, and 
tivo priests doing duty — one at Charleston and one at Au- 
gusta. 

Dr. Ramsay says : " Hitherto Carolina had been an asylum 
to those who fled from tyranny, and persecution, to the 
exile, the weary and heavy laden." In 1793 a new variety 
of human misery was presented for the exercise of its hos- 
pitality. The indiscriminate massacre of Frenchmen in St. 
Domingo, and their necessarj' flight, drove thousands to 
this country, several hundred of whom landed at this port 
in great distress. They were kindly received in the homes 
of Charlestonians, until permanent arrangements could be 
made for them. So great was this misfortune that the Con- 
gress of the United States appropriated money for their re- 
lief. From a letter of Mr. Edward Randolph to Mr. Daniel 
DeSaussure, dated Philadelphia, February 27th, 1794, I 
make the following extract : " I do myself the honor of 
enclosing to you the copy of an Act passed on the 12th inst., 
by Congress, for the relief of certain inhabitants of St. 
Domingo." * * * * " Xhe quota assigned to 
South Carolina is $1,750, this sum the President consigns 
to your care and management." 

Mr. Daniel DeSaussure, acknowledging the receipt of this 
letter and enclosure, says : " In July last it was foreseen 
that a number of these unfortunate people would come 
here. Several gentlemen associated themselves to receive 
and distribute such contributions as should be made for 
their succor, in consequence of which they collected from 
time to time about $12,500, which has been nearly distribu- 
ted amongst about 430 people, in supplying them with 
clothing, blankets and fire-wood during the winter, and 
in a regular distribution of a certain weekly allowance of 



Charleston — idyo-iSSj. yi 

money according to the number in families and circum- 
stances."* 

This money contribution of our citizens alone was seven 
times as great as the proportion of the Congressional appro- 
priation sent to Charleston, but did not represent all that 
was contributed, not including the large amount of private 
entertainment. It is equally a pleasure to refer to this 
incident, as showing the hospitality and generous action of 
our citizens, as to recall the fact that through all the vicis- 
situdes of nearly a century the St. Domingo refugees and 
their descendants have invariably discharged their duties as 
good citizens, in prosperity and adversity. 

As germane to the subject of the local population of 
Charles Town, the dates of the founding of certain Socie- 
ties composed of citizens of different nationalities and their 
descendants, will not be uninteresting: 

1729 — St. Andrew's Society (Scotch). 

1733 — St. George's Society (English). 

1737 — South Carolina Society (French Protestants). 

1766 — German Friendly (German). 

1774 — Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (Extinct). 

1 791 — Hebrew Orphan Society. 

1801 — Hibernian Society. 

* The following action was taken by the General Assembly of South Carolina : 
In the House of J?epresenfatives, December 11, ijgj. 

Resolved, That the Vendue Tax, arising in the course of the ensuing year, 
on the property to be sold in the City of Charleston, be and the same is hereby 
appropriated to the relief of the unhappy sufferers from St. Domingo, and the 
Treasurer residing in Charleston, is hereby directed to pay the same into the 
hands of the Committee of the Benevolent Society, for the use of the said 
sufferers 

Ordered, that this resolution be sent to tlie Senate for their concurrence. 

JOHN SANDFORD DART. C. H. R. 

By order of the House. 

In the Senate, December 21, Jjgj. 

Resolved, That this House do concur with the House of Representatives in 
the foregoing resolution. 

Ordered, that the resolution be sent to the House of Representatives. 

FELIX WARLEY, C. S. 
By order of the Senate. 

10 



74 



The Centennial of Incorporation. 



We copy the following figures of population from the 
United States census. There is a concurrence of opinion 
as to the inaccuracy of that of i860, and the enumeration 
of white population in 1880 is clearly inaccurate, as it shows 
a less number than in 1870. 



POPULATION. 

WHITES. liLACKS. 

1790 8,089 8,270 

iSoo 9,630 10,843 

iSio 11,568 13.143 

1820 10,653 ■ 14.127 

1830 12,828 17.461 

1840 13,030 16,231 

1850 20,012 22,973 

i860 23,321 17.146 

1S70 22,749 26.207 

IS80 22,699 27,285 



TOTAL. 
16,359 
20,473 
24,711 
24,780 
30,289 
29,261 
42.985 
40,467 
48.956 
49,984 



EARLY CROPS AND COMMERCE. 



The peopling of 
America introduced 
at once for the nour- 
ishment and comfort 
of the old world, the 
potato, maize and the 
turkey; also tobacco, 
which must be men- 
tioned, even though 
it may be regarded 
The Plow of the Period. by mauy as not in the 

beneficent group, and yet it has made its way, so to speak, 
around the world. In the description of England, prefixed 
to Holinshed's Chronicles, and dated 1586, one of these 
gifts is mentioned; "of the potato and such venerous roots 
as are brought to furnish up our banquets, &c., &c." Oi'.r 
colonists found the potato and maize, and no doubt supplied 




Early Crops and Comuiercc, 75 

tucir tables with turkeys and other game; but, doubtless, 
the first effort after securing shelter from the elements was 
to provide for regular and ample supplies of food. The pro- 
ductions of England and the other countries from which the 
settlers came in the first decade were not particularly suited 
to the climate of Carolina, and their first planting operations 
"were iiijudicious and unsuccessful." 

Highland grains, with which they were best .icquainted, 
were not entirely successful in the low sandy soil common 
to the coast region. The swamps and low grounds were of 
forbidding aspect, thickly wooded and hard to clear, and 
even when cleared were not adapted to any crops with 
wl>ich the settlers were then familiar. Stock raising was 
an early and very profitable employment, and the noble 
primeval forests presented an inviting field for industry ; 
masts, spars and ship timber of superb material were easily 
obtained, and pipe staves for the contiguous West India 
markets were in active demand and in plentiful supply. 

Turpentine, tar, rosin and pitch are frequently mentioned 
in the early exports. A "Complete description of Carolina 
and the natural advantages thereof," published in London 
in 1682, thus enlightens us as to the export of tar: " Tarr, 
made of the Resinous Juice of the pine, they make great 
quantities yearly, transporting many tuns to Barbadoes, 
Jamaica and the Caribbee Islands ; when boyl'd to a thicker 
consistance it is Pitch." 

Governor Archdale's account of the Province (i/O/j men- 
tions the arrival in England "of 17 ships from Charles 
Town, laden with Rice, Skin's, Pitch and Tar." It appears 
by the Custom House entries, 1730-31, that there sailed 
within one year from Charles Town two hundred and seven 
ships which carried, among other goods, 10,754 barrels of 
pitch, 2,063 of tar, and 1,139 ^^ turpentine — the first men- 
tion I can find of the latter article. In a pamphlet entitled 
"The Importance of the J^ritish Plantations in America to 
the Kingdom," printed in London, 1731, I find, in reference 
to Carolina, that "the making of Pitch and Tar was often 
thought impracticable, though now we know where to be 



"](> The Centennial of Incorporation. 

supplied with these two necessaries at a less price than the 
Danes and Swedes made us pay before that art was taught us." 

Beaver, bear, deer, fox, racoons, wild-cats, and other 
animals, whose skins and furs were valuable, received early 
attention. Considering the times, the circumstances and 
the difficulties of transportation with the vast interior, it is 
surprising to know that as early as 1710, 70,000 deer skins 
were exported; in 1731 250,000, and in 1748 the seemingly 
enonrious quantity of 600,000. The value of a deer skin 
then was thirty cents, and the value now about four times 
that amount ; about equal to the difference in the value of 
money then and now, so that in deer skins the market can 
be reported steady for two centuries of time. 

A gentleman long resident in South Carolina (173 1) states 
that "Charles Town traded with eight thousand Indians, and 
yet nine hundred hogsheads of rum was the most they ever 
imported in one year for home consumption and trade with 
these eight thousand Indians." Evidently the relation of 
the rum to the volume of trade was considered quite dis- 
proportionate. 

THE CULTURE OF RICE. 

In a bill of lading (1671) from London, per Ship William 
and Ralph, Wm. Jeffreys, Master, bound for Charles Town, 
Ashley River, there was among other articles in the cargo 
" a barrel of Rice." 

In the curious pamphlet of 1731, previously referred to, 
but without date, we find " Dr. Woodward's " name mention- 
ed as receiving a parcel of seed rice from " Madagascar," in 
Charles Town, which was planted and harvested, but he 
was ignorant for some years how to clean it for use. It is 
likewise "reported that DuBois, Treasurer of the East 
India Company, did send to Charles Town at an early 
date a small bag of Seed Rice, some short time after Dr. 
Woodward's planting of Rice, from whence it is reasonable 
enough to suppose might come those two sorts called Red 
Rice — from the redness of the inner husk — and White Rice, 
thoui^h thev both clean and become white alike." 



Early Crops and Commerce. 77 

Twenty-one years after the first landing, there was an Act 
of Assembly (September 26th, 1691) conferring a reward on 
Peter Jacob Guerard, inventor of a pendulum engine for 
"husking rice," which was superior to a)iy inachinc pre- 
viously used i)i the Colony. This proves on high authority 
that among the grain planting experiments rice had a very 
early place, and it is more than probable that these, perhaps 
small plantings, led the way for a better knowledge of the 
plant, its more general cultivation, and the improvement of 
its preparation for market. It shows also that the ingenuity 
of our people had been at an early day at work to find a 
way to clean the seeci. The true date of this machine is 
probably 1685, and the date of the earliest rice planting 
must have been previous, and perhaps nearly coeval with 
the settlement, as Dr. Woodward, it will be remembered, 
was the first Englishman to reside in Carolina, and was the 
immediate representative of Shaftesbury. 

Dr. Ramsay gives substantially this account of rice cul- 
ture in Carolina, which is clearly after its introduction : 

Governor Thomas Smith had been in Madagascar before 
he settled in Carolina, and had observed that rice was planted 
and grew in low moist ground. Having a small area of such 
land in the garden adjoining his residence on East Bay, at 
thecorner of what is now Longitude Lane, he was satisfied 
that rice would grow there if seed could be obtained. By 
a singular coincidence a vessel in distress from Madagascar 
put into Charles Town harbor in 1694, and the master hav- 
ing known Governor Smith in the island from whence he 
came, inquired for him. In the interview that took place 
Governor Smith expressed a wish to obtain some seed rice 
to plant as an experiment. A small quantity was secured, 
and was in due season planted in his garden, where the Com- 
mercial Cotton Press now stands, or very near that locality 
towards Church Street. It grew luxuriantly, and this little 
crop was distributed by Governor Smith among his planting 
friends, and from this thoughtful beginning, the first great 
staple commodity of South Carolina took its rise, and soon 
thereafter became the chief support of the Colony, furnish- 



7 8 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

ing cheap food for man and beast, and an annually increas- 
ing quantity for export. When it was introduced there 
were few negroes in the Pri^vince, the government unsettled, 
and the soil, cultivation, and other circumstances most 
favorable to its growth were unknown. The ravages of 
pirates on the coast for the twenty years succeeding its first 
cultivation made all exporting so hazardous as to somewhat 
limit rice production ; but in 1724, after all the adverse cir- 
cumstances of the period had been surmounted, the home 
consumption was amply supplied, and eighteen thousand 
barrels of rice were shipped abroad. In 1760 the surplus 
over consumption exported had risen to one hundred thous- 
and barrels, and in 1770 to one hundred and twenty thous- 
and barrels, with a value of $1,530,000 — or about $13 per 
package, and, as near as can be ascertained, selling for about 
three cents per pound. 

Let us pause and consider the details of this certainly 
remarkable result. Rice was then grown on inland swamps, 
and also on high lands as in many Eastern countries. Ex- 
perience with succeeding crops demonstrated that the low 
grounds agreed better with this culture, and so the inland 
swamps were extensively cleared to increase the crop. In 
the process of time as these fields became too grassy and 
stubborn, they were abandoned for new clearings; and so 
on, until at length the superior advantages of the tide lands 
and the more complete facilities for irrigation afforded by 
their location were discovered. 

Those of us who have visited a modern tide swamp rice 
plantation, with its improved drainage, thrashing imple- 
ments, pounding mill, and labor-saving contrivances, will 
realize the magnitude of the work done in the Provincial 
and Colonial period ; when it is recalled that the then crops 
were raised with imperfect facilities of irrigation, that the 
flail in the hands of the laborer was the only means of sep- 
arating the grain from the sheaf, and the chaff taken off by 
grinding in a crude wooden mill ; that a rude mortar made 
of a pine stump, to contain a bushel or less of the grain, 
with a pestle of seasoned lightwood in the hands of a laborer, 



Early Crops and Couiuicrcc. 79 

was the only contrivance in use through long years to clean 
the grain for market. That so slow was this crude process 
that the task for a male laborer was six pecks a day, and 
for a female laborer four pecks a day, with their half acre 
field-task. Consider also the putting up and transportation 
of this bulky crop ; grown largely on interior swamps at a 
distance from this port and market. In every rice neighbor- 
hood or large plantation there was a cooper shop. The 
pine staves and oak hoops were cut and split near by, made 
into barrels, the rice packed in them, hauled on wooden 
sleds by oxen to the nearest water-course, loaded in sloops 
and sent to Charles Town. When these then available 
means are compared with the grand result of a large local 
consumption supplied, and over one hundred and twenty 
thousand barrels exported from a single crop, that in seek- 
ing European markets for this new Carolina rice, it had to 
meet there in competition the rice of India, China, and the 
Asiatic Islands, Africa and Southern Europe, and did 
so successfully, the people who achieved this marvelous 
work cannot very well be classed as indolent, or wanting in 
force of character, in surmounting the great difficulties by 
which they were surrounded, or in intelligence to direct the 
labor of unskilled Africans. 

The rice culture on inland swamps was continued with 
steadily increasing results, through nearly three-quarters of 
a century of time; from its small beginnings it had spread 
over a great breadth of territory in lower South Carolina. 
Few planters failed of acquiring an independence, and many 
made fortunes, large for the time and circumstances. The 
aggregate of thought and work to make these swamps availa- 
ble and productive was arduous, and at some points pre- 
carious; subject as they were sometimes to an excess of 
water, and to a want of it at other times when most needed. 

I have made extended inquiries as to the date of the 
earliest successful experiment in reclaiming river swamp 
land for rice culture, and find that Mr. McKewn Johnstone 
the Elder, raised a crop on such land at the " Estherville " 
plantation on VVinyah Bay as early as 1758. A most inter- 



8o The Centennial of Incorporation. 

esting and instructive chapter in the agricultural history of 
the State, can be written of the great change in the rice 
culture from the inland swamps to what was at first thought 
and afterwards proved to be the hazardous venture of river 
land under bank, and even the flattering results obtained 
from these rich alluvial soils accomplished it very gradually. 

Governor Wright, the last of the Royal Governors of 
Georgia, commissioned in 1760, was a rice planter, and was 
prominent in encouraging its culture, and bringing into use 
and value the "tide swamp land," but the complete change 
was delayed by imperfectly constructed banks and trunks, 
in general use, through many subsequent years, and it was 
not until the close of the century that the very general 
abandonment of inland swamps occurred. There were a 
great many plantations for inland culture as late as 1820-25, 
when the Izard family gave up the cultivation of the " Elms " 
and " Izard Camp," two inland rice plantations near Otranto 
on the Northeastern Railroad, and it should be mentioned 
that some inland rice fields were in use as late as i860, as 
for instance Mr. Trenholm's " VVythewood " plantation in 
St. Thomas Parish, and to-day there are still such fields cul- 
tivated, but the area has long since been very limited. 

Durii g this period, 1 758-1 800, the great breadth of inland 
rice swamps was abandoned, and the thought, experience 
and labor, were gradually transferred to the river swamps, 
to enter upon a new and wider career of prosperity, with a 
complete system of irrigation, improved culture, and a 
wonderful advance in mechanical contrivances for economiz- 
ing and perfecting the preparation of this crop for market. 
As we sometimes journey through this section of the State 
it is with surprise and wonder we still see the evidences of 
the old culture, as we look upon the lands now lying waste. 
But there is equal surprise and wonder in contemplating 
what has been done since in the new fields on the rivers. 

INDIGO. 

In Samuel Wilson's account of Carolina (1682), he says: 
" Indigo thrives well here, and very good hath been made ;" 



Early Crops and Commerce. 8i 

but I can find no mention of it as an article of export, or of 
its extended growth, in the Colony, until many years after 
this date. 

That laborious and painstaking writer, Dr. Ramsay, in his 
history, says of this culture, " it proved more really beneficial 
to Carolina than the mines of Peru and Mexico to old or 
new Spain." As the Colony was indebted to the intelligent 
use of a chance opportunity availed of by Governor Thomas 
Smith for the initiation of rice culture, which so rapidly 
supplied cheap food for man and beast, and added so largely 
to the wealth of the people, so fifty years afterwards it came 
about that a young lady, by her intelligent observation and 
diligence, was the originator of Carolina indigo culture. 
The following narrative reads like a romance, and illustrates 
how much can be accomplished by a single person towards 
achieving a large result. 

In 1739 Lieutenant-Colonel George Lucas was Governor 
of Antigua, one of the Leeward Isles, noted in history as 
having been discovered by Columbus in 1493. His family 
had resided many years there, when in that year the health 
of Mrs. Lucas requiring a change of climate, " Colonel Lucas 
removed his family to Carolina, where he had a landed 
estate of some value, with the intention of making it their 
home for the future ; but the breaking out of the war with 
Spain soon after his arrival obliged him to return to Antigua, 
while his wife remained with her children in the Province 
for the benefit of as much winter as the year in this latitude 
affords. 

"The feeble state of Mrs. Lucas' health threw the whole 
care of the family and the superintendence of their affairs 
into the hands of the eldest daughter, then only eighteen 
years of age; her youth, however, did not prevent her ap- 
plying herself at once in the endeavor to increase the re- 
sources of the new country to which she had come, and to 
introduce the culture of those plants for which the climate 
appeared to her adapted. Though by birth a West Indian, 
she had been educated in England, and had brought with 
her to America the industry, the habits of observation, and 
11 



82 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

the .strong love of nature, for which well educated English 
women have been always remarkable; but in no country 
would it have been common to find a woman at that early 
age, busied in plans for improving the conditions of things 
around her, fulfilling her arduous duties with cheerfulness 
and fidelity, and preserving with rare skill the due propor- 
tion among those duties. The judicious manager of her 
father's estates never degenerated into the mere manager. 
The love of literature and science continued to characterize 
her to the last. It was her pleasure to assist by every 
means in her power by collecting for him plants and 
animals, and by her ready and intelligent sympathy was 
pleasantly known to one of our earliest Botanists, Dr. 
Garden, the friend and correspondent of Linnaeus." 

Hindcostan is the native field for the growth of indigo, 
but transplanted to the West Indian Islands it was found to 
naturalize readily, and proved a profitable crop in its new 
home. 

In 1741-42, Colonel Lucas, owning a plantation near the 
confluence of VVappoo Creek and Stono River, where his 
family were then residing, encouraged his daughter Eliza's 
fondness for planting, by sending her seeds and fruits to be 
tested in this new English Colony. Among other contribu- 
tions of this sort was some indigo seed as a subject of ex- 
periment. The record shows, that without particular in- 
formation as to the season for sowing or the most desirable 
soil, she undertook the experiment of indigo culture. The 
first seed was planted in March and was destroyed by a 
frost; the next in April was cut down by worms; a third 
and later planting succeeded. Upon Colonel Lucas hearing 
of its growth he sent a Mr. Cromwell from the Island of 
Monserrat, one of the most healthful and pleasant of the 
West India Islands, with a soil adapted to the growth of 
sugar, indigo, coffee and fruits, who was versed in indigo 
culture, and in the intricate process of its preparation for 
market, and gave him high wages to develop this new crop 
in Carolina. Under his direction the first indigo vats, built 
of brick, were erected on this plantation, and the first Caro- 



Early Crops and Couinicrce. 83 

Una indigo made. It was of inferior quality, and this was 
attributable to the indigo maker, Mr. Cromwell, who was so 
impressed with the piomise of this experiment as to give 
expression to regrets that he should have to do what he 
believed would certainly ruin a similar industry in his own 
land. He attempted to make a mystery of the work of 
preparation, but Miss Lucas by close observation got an in- 
sight into the complex process, which required fermentation 
by submerging the plants in cisterns of water, and a tedious 
and continuous attention to many details of preparation, 
and was subsequently rewarded by improved results. 

In 1744 the whole crop was saved for seed, and given 
away in small parcels to a great number of planters, and 
through this liberal action the growth of indigo became 
plentiful in the Colony. 

Just about this time the arrival of several Frenchmen, who 
had some acquaintance with the details of indigo prepara- 
tion, it having been brought to great perfection in France, 
were instrumental in producing still more satisfactory re- 
sults. To extend the culture, every new item of information 
on this subject was published in the " Gazette " for the 
general information of the people. 

Indigo is described as " a light and beautiful crop, and the 
process of changing it from the weed into the matured dry 
lumps was a very nice and critical one, requiring untiring 
attention during night and day. A periodical change of 
hands was required throughout the work of preparation, 
with the exception of the indigo maker, who could no more 
leave his post of responsibility than could the captain of a 
ship on a lee-shore." 

This culture was urged with so much industry and success 
that as early as 1747 a considerable quantity of it was sent 
to England. The offering of" Carolina indigo " on the Eng- 
lish market attracted great attention. Great Britain was 
consuming annually six hundred thousand pounds weight of 
French indigo, paying for it one hundred and fifty thousand 
pounds sterling, and the statistics showed an annual increase 
of consumption. It was easy to see the gain in drawing 



84 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

this indigo supply from their own Colony, and so in 1748 
Parliament passed an Act allowing a bounty of six pence 
per pound on indigo from the British Colonies. This stimu- 
lated the Carolina production, and every planter applied 
himself with vigor and spirit to the cultivation of the article, 
and they vied with each other in both the quantity and 
quality produced. Some years elapsed before they realized 
the perfection of preparation, which had given French indigo 
the preference, but this was finally accomplished, and large 
profits accrued as the reward for :heir labors. 

Dr. Ramsay says that the indigo planters in Carolina 
doubled their capital every three or four years, which was 
certainly an unexampled planting prosperity. The cultiva- 
tion of the plant as well as the preparation of the cake for 
market, was brought to such a degree of perfection as not 
only to supply the mother country, but also to undersell 
and supplant the French indigo, previously in control of the 
markets of Europe. Ten years after that general distribu- 
tion of seed in 1744, the export of indigo from Charles Town 
amounted to two hundred and sixteen thousand nine hund- 
red and twenty-four pounds, and shortly before the Revolu- 
tionary war the export had risen to one million one hundred 
and seven thousand six hundred and sixty pounds. An 
incident will show the value of the prepared indigo. When 
Mr. Peter Sinkler was captured by the British, and his 
property burned at his plantation in St. Stephens, among 
the items of loss we find twenty thousand pounds of pre- 
pared indigo, valued at $30,000, or $1.50 per pound. 

The stocks of indigo which had been saved during the 
War of Independence found a market in Charleston, when 
its commerce was resumed, but there was no longer the pro- 
tection of 6d. a pound in Great Britain, and various other 
causes operated to reduce the production. The figures of 
export show a steady decline, and its abandonment as a 
leading crop is foreshadowed by the statement that between 
1770 and 1794, patches of cotton were grown in Carolina, 
some of which was of the black seed variety, and despite 
the difficulties of securing the lint, the necessities of the 



Early Crops and Commerce. 85 

times developed domestic fabricators of the wool, until about 
the latter year, when the practice of using home spun cotton 
goods became common in many localities. The yarn was 
usually spun at home and sent to the nearest weaver. The 
Irish settlers in Williamsburg County had a manufacturing 
establishment at Murray's Ferry, which turned out large 
amounts of cotton goods, and had for several years a re- 
munerative trade in the surrounding country. The spread 
of this new crop will be referred to subsequently. Here and 
there in several counties adjacent to Charleston indigo was 
grown and prepared for use at home, and in this city Caro- 
lina made indigo in little cakes could always be purchased 
up to 1867. 

SILK. 

Samuel Wilson, in his account of Carolina (1682), says: 
" There is in Carolina great plenty of mulberry trees, such as 
are by experience found to feed the silk worm very well, 
yea, as well as the white mulberry, but there is of that sort 
also, which are propagated with a great deal of care ; a stick 
new cut and thrust into the ground, seldom failing to grow, 
and so likewise the seed if there be sown." 

Governor Archdale speaks of silk in his description of 
Carolina: " Since I wrote the former part I understand that 
silk is come into great improvement, some families making 
forty or fifty pounds a year, and their plantation work not 
neglected ; little negro children being serviceable in feeding 
the silkworms; and I must give Sir Nathaniel Johnson the 
reputation of being the principal promoter hereof, and of a 
considerable vineyard also. I further understand that the 
inhabitants work silk up into druggets mixed with wool, 
which is an excellent /vear for that country." 

For a century and a half these efforts to produce silk 
were continued not only in Carolina, but in all the Colonies, 
and just after the landing at James Town, the enthusiasm 
for silk worms caused the mulberry tree to be planted in 
England, and the king himself engaged in this attractive 
business. 



86 The Centennial of Tneorporation. 

There seemed to be a sort of infatuation for silk culture 
everywhere. Sir Nathaniel Johnson " called his Carolina plan- 
tation Silk Hope, and sent silk to England in 1699," but fifty 
years after the export "had reached a climax of only one 
hundred and eighteen pounds." Some public spirited 
Charleston ladies of high standing substituted the winding 
of silk from the cocoons, for the tamer recreations of needle- 
Avork, and the playing of the harpsicord, and as many as 
three silk dresses had an existence in Charleston, one of 
which I learn still survives. There were no real difficulties 
in the way of the production of silk in the Colonies, but the 
economic fact remained, that people could make twice as 
much money at other employments, and this explains its 
extended failure everywhere in America. One hundred 
years after those three silk dresses were made in Charleston 
from native grown silk, I remember as a boy, seeing sev- 
eral acres of land located West of Rutledge and North of 
Spring Street in this city, planted with mulberry trees, and 
a large two story frame building thereon, filled with all the 
appliances for growing silk worms and winding silk ; I have 
myself wound the fine thread of silk from the cocoons, little 
thinking then that the economic result awaiting this large in- 
vestment had been already ascertained in a preceding cen- 
tury — for the disappointing experience of the Swedes on the 
Delaware, the Swiss at Purysburg, and the Saltzburgers of 
Georgia, was the fortune of the enterprising Charleston 
gentlemen, Messrs. Teasdale, Hopkins and others, who had 
projected this scheme less than half a century ago. 

A similar narrative could be prepared in regard to attempts 
to cultivate the vine, but it is hardly necessary to do so 
here. 



ANTE-REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD— 1725-1775. 

Having presented in brief narrative some account of the 
early voyages on our coast, the early settlers, their suffer- 
in<7s, losses, and hardships, the sources of population and 
early religious development, the early crops and commerce 



Antc-Rcvolutionary Period — ij2^-iy'j^. 87 

of the Province, we find Charleston in this period one of 
the most, if not the most prosperous town of the Colonies. 
Planted under the auspices of the English constitution, its 
citizens had bcLMi nursed in danger, and made vigorous by 
years of strife and suffering, but wealth and great prosperity 
had been achieved in spite of trials, and in the half century 
between 1725-75 the population had largely increased. 

From a pamphlet entitled " The importance of the British 
plantations in America to this Kingdom, London, 1731," — 
pages 62-63, — I quote the following account of Charles 
Town and its vicinity: 

" I shall now speak of our plantations on this Continent ; 
anci shall begin with South Carolina, which is capable of 
being made the most valuable Province in North America ; 
it is now the largest, being seventy leagues front on the sea 
from Cape P'ear, the Northernmost bounds, to the River 
May, where was an English P'ort, built by order of General 
Nicholson. The climate is so good, that for eight months 
in the year no place exceeds it ; the other four months, 
Mar, /iiiii\ July and August, are very hot and produce 
much thunder; yet no place is more healthful. The soil in 
general is sandy, out of which is produced all manner of 
English grain, in great perfection, as well as rice, Indian 
corn, &c. Nor doth any place exceed it for fine fruits. 
Near the banks of rivers there is strong rich land which 
produces hemp in as great perfection as any in the world. 
Mulberry trees of all sorts grow in vast quantities, and arc 
of prodigious quick growth. So that it has already been 
shown by many people that no place is capable of produc- 
ing better silk, and with more ease. The chief of their ex- 
ports, at present, are rice, deer-skins, pitch, tarr, turpentine, 
beef, pork, tanned leather, cedar wood, deal boards, pipe 
staves, timber of all sorts, masts, yards, etc. And some few 
ships have been built there, and those as good as any that 
ever were built in America. It must be allowed that no 
place is more capable or convenient for building of ships ; 
for the countrey abounds with fine timber, and has so many 
jfine rivers as any part of the known world." 



88 The Cejitennial of Tncor potation. 

At pages 64-65, we find the accompanying commercial 
review, which is most interesting, as showing the progress 
made during this half century: 

"The number of white people— men, women and child- 
ren — in the year 1724, was about 14,000; the slaves (most 
of which are negroes)— men, women and children — included 
about 32,000, and, no doubt, they are now encreased, for 
there has been many negroes imported there since. In the 
year 1723 the imports to this Province amounted to the 
value of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds sterling, 
first cost in goods and merchandize, and had not been less 
yearly, for four years before. This estimate was made from 
the country Collector's Books, who received a Duty of two 
and a half per cent, on all Goods" imported ; so that if any 
Fraud was committed by false Report, the Imports were so 
much more. 

The quantity of British Shipping employed by means of 
this Province is not less than 8,000 Tons. England hath 
received annually from this Colony only in Skins, Furs, 
Rice, Pitch, Tarr, Turpentine, Pipe Staves, &c., exclusive of 
all Bounty, to the value of 200,000/. Sterling. The Freight 
of such Shipping would not amount to above 24,000/., and 
there is Profit upon that, at least ten per cent. i. e. 2,400/. 
So that if I were to state the account between South Caro- 
lina and Britain, it would stand thus — 

Imported from Carolina to Great Britain of their Produce annually. .;^ 200,000 
In Cash, admitting sixty ships, each ship to bring but twenty pounds. 1,200 

201,200 



(roods sent to Carolina annually from this Kingdom . .100,000 

The real Expence of S.ooo Tons of Shipping for such Voyage. 21,600 

121,600 

The whole gain to this Kingdom by Carolina will be annually 79,600" 

These two items are also most interesting: 
" All manner of Provisions are extremely cheap in South 
Carolina, insomuch that the shipping at Charlestown are sup- 
plied all the year round with Beef at less than Seven Shil- 



Ante-Revolutionary Period — t'/2^-iy'/^. 89 

lings Sterling per lumdred Weight ; and it would seem in- 
credible should one relate the prodigious quantities of Fish, 
and the cheap rate at which that market is supplied with 
them. In short the whole Country is capable of vast Im- 
provement ; there seems to be nothing wanting but People 
to make it much the most considerable settlement his Ma- 
jesty hath on the Continent oi America." — Page 68. 

" There are hat makers in South Carolina. I have seen , 
as good hats made there in all respects as those we buy in 
England at from 10 to 25 Shillings." — Page 80. 

It will now be interesting to show how, in the years just 
preceding the Revolutionary war, wealth had further ac- 
cumulated here, and how general was the prosperity. 

Mr. Quincy, in his journal written in 1773. gives his im- 
pressions on entering the harbor: 

"The number of shipping far surpassed all I have seen in 
Boston." " I was told there were then not so many as com- 
mon at this season, though about three hundred and fifty 
sail lay off the town, which struck me very agreeably, and 
the new Exchange which pointed the place of my landing 
made a most noble appearance." * * * * Again: "This 
town makes a most beautiful appearance as you come up to 
it, and in many respects a magnificent one. I can only say, 
in general, that in grandeur, splendor of buildings, decora- 
tions, equipages, numbers, commerce, shipping, and indeed 
in almost everything, it far surpasses all I ever saw, or ever 
ex{)ect to see in America." 

From William Gerard de Brahm, Surveyor of the South- 
ern District of North America, I quote, of date 1773 : 

" The City of Charlestown is in every respect the most 
eminent, and by far the richest City in the Southern district 
of North America; contains about 1500, and most of them 
bigg houses, arryed by stright, broad, and regular streets, 
the principal of them is seventy-two foot wide, call'd Broad 
Street, is decorated, besides many fine houses, with a State- 
house near in the center of said street, constructed to con- 
tain two rooms, one for the Governor and Council, th' 
other for the Representatives of the People, the Secretarys 



90 Tin Centennial of Incorporation. 

office and a Court-room ; opposite the State-house is the 
Armory-house, item St. Michaels Church, whoose steeple is 
192 foot high, and seen by vessels at sea before they make 
any land ; also with a new Exchange on the east end of said 
street upon the bay ; all four buildings have been raised 
since the year 1752, and no expence spared to make them 
sulide, convenient, and elegant. 

" The City is inhabitated by above 12,000 souls, more than 
half are Negroes and Mulatters ; the City is divided in two 
parishes, has two churches, St. Michaels and St. Philip's, 
and six meeting houses vidt. and Independent, a Presby- 
terian, a French, a German, and two Baptist ; there is also 
an assembly for Quakers, and an other for Jews; all which 
are composed of several nations, altho' differing in religious 
principles, and in the knowledge of salvation, yet are far 
from being incouraged, or even inclining to that disorder 
which is so common among men of contrary religious senti- 
ments in many other parts of the world, where that pernic- 
ious spirit of controversy has laid foundation to hatred, per- 
secution, and cruel inquisition, in lieu of ascertaining thereb)' 
how to live a godly life. A society of men (which in relig- 
ion, government, and negotiation avoids what ever can dis- 
turbe peace and quietness) will always grow and prosper! 
so will this City and Province, whoose inhabitants was from 
its beginning renound for concord, compleasance, courteous- 
ness, and tenderness toward each other, and more so towards 
foreigners, without regard or respect of nation or religion." 

'• This Port is very extensive, contains within the bar to 
the west end of the city in both rivers, Cooper and Ashly, 
sixteen square miles, sunds all over (the bar's channel ex- 
cluded) from nineteen to sixty foot at low water." 

-X- * ■;<- * * * * 

" The annual export of Carolina rice amounts to above 
100,000 barills of which two containe iioo weight, so that 
the whole makes out above 55 million weights ot neat rice, 
worth in Carolina ;^275,ooo sterling, next to which is 
indigo, whose exportation comprehends no less than 600,000 



Ante-Revolutionary Period — ij2-;-iy'/'j. 91 

weight, worth in Caroh'na i^ 150,000 sterh"ng, and the whole 
annual exportation may be valuaded ^^637,000 sterling." 

-X- -:f -;v -X- * * * 

" The cattle in this Province are thus increased, that all 
pains would prove in vain to number them ; yea, the Pro- 
vince is rather overstocked, and in order to make room for 
the yearly immense increase, great herds from 3 to 1500 
heads have been driven from this into the neighbouring 
Province of Georgia, there spread between Savannah and 
Ilogetchee streams ever since 1757, and kept in ganges 
under the auspice of cowpen keepers, which move (like unto 
the ancient Patriarchs, or the modern Bodewins in Arabia) 
from forest to forest, in a measure as the grass wears out, or 
the planters approach them." 

* -X- * * -S- vr * 

The recklessness of British authority, the selfishness of 
its officials, lack of wisdom in all, soon gave provocation 
and forced the crisis upon the country, which under different 
auspices might have continued to acknowledge the sovereign 
of Britain fifty years longer ; and so it happened that 
Charlestown had reached that period in its history when it 
was to pass through the fiery furnace of revolution in its 
progress to a complete condition of civil liberty and self- 
government. 

The Stamp Act of 1765 was the signal for general opposi- 
tion, and here in Charlestown resistance to it was openly 
declared, without waiting for consultation with any other 
town or Colony. The action taken here spread through- 
out Carolina, and was not limited to resolutions. On the 
arrival of the stamped paper in the harbor, the temper of 
the people forbid its landing, and the stamps were stored 
at Fort Johnson, a garrisoned post of George III in the 
harbor. As the obnoxious stamps never came into use, it 
is interesting to know what they were like and what was to 
be the expense of their use. Herewith is a fac-similie of 
the little scrap of paper that cost England her American 
Colonies, and a copy of the table of prices: 



92 



The Centennial of Ineorporation. 




Parchment. 
Skins — 18 in by 13 at Four pence. 
22 by 16 at Six pence. 
26 by 20 at Eight pence. 
28 by 23 at Ten pence. 
31 by 26 at Thirteen pence. 



Stamp Office, Lincoln's Inn, 1765. 

A Tabic of the Prices of Parc/i/iicitt and Paper fo 
Pie scri'ice of America. 



Paper. 
Horn at Seven pence. 
Foolscap at Nine pence. 
Do., with printed notices for / 
indentures. ) 

Folio Post at One Shilling. 
Demy — at Two Shillings. 
Medium — at Three Shillings. 
Royal — at Four Shillings. 
.Super Royal — at Six Shillings. 



.o> 



Paper for Printing , 



News. 
Double Crown at 14s, 
Double Demy at 19s. 



J W 



Almanacks. 
Book — Foolscap at 6s. Od. 
Pocket — Folio Post at 20s. 
Sheet— Demy at 13s. 



i-<^ 



J W 



Lossing says: ^'Having resolved on rebellion, the people of 
CJiarlestozvn zvere not afraid to conn/tit acts of legal treason^ 

Three companies of volunteers proceeded from this city 
to James Island, captured the fort, hauled down the British 
flag, run up "a blue flag displaying three silver crescents," 
and the stamps were reshipped to England ; thus was begun 
the American Revolution. 

In the midst of the excitement of the period there 
was a brief calin ; the news of the repeal of the Stamp 
Act reached Charles Town, via Barbadoes, on the third 
day of May, 1766, and as the agreeable intelligence be- 
came known, joy pervaded the community; salutes were 
fired, the town illuminated, and the day closed with mirth, 
and Mr. Pitt wa- honored by loyal toasts "to our worthy 
friends in England." The Commons House of Assembly 
ordered a marble statue of Lord Chatham, and after many 



Ante-Revohitionary Period — i'/2^-iy'j^. 93 

vicissitudes illustrating the changes of public opinion, this 
relic of the Colonial times still stands in our midst, recalling 
" his services to his country in general and to America in 
particular." 

Next came the duty on tea, which was resisted ; the first 
consignments were stored and finally rotted in the ware- 
houses ; the second was thrown overboard in broad daylight, 
\vithout disguise. This happened on the third day of Novem- 
ber, 1774; the Proprietors, by themselves and agents, in the 
presence of the Committee of Inspection, stove the chests, 
and from the vessel then riding in the stream of Cooper 
River, threw all their contents into the same, amidst the 
acclamations of the people who crowded the wharves on 
the occasion. 

Then came the Boston Port Bill, and the sympathetic re- 
sponse from Charles Town was expressed substantially in 
liberal gifts of money and provisions. It is as well to make 
record here of these supplies, and no one can read this 
statement without being impressed with the earnestness of 
the men of Carolina. 

South Carolina — 712 '^ casks and 370,463 lbs. rice, and 
cash ^1,403.12.3^. Of the rice, 580 casks and 259,814 lbs. 
were sold in New York, realizing i^ 1,304.19.03^, making a 
total of say ^,"3,150. 

By way of comparison the contributions of a neighboring 
Colony are also stated : ' 

New York — 44 bushels wheat and 6 of rye ; 394 bbls. and 
714 cwt., 3 qrs., 2 lbs., corn flour; 5 hhds. and 30 cwt. In- 
dian meal ; 24 tierces and 50 cwt., 2 qrs., 3 lbs., ship bread ; 
22 bbls., 34 cwt., 3 qrs., 9 lbs., rye flour; io>2 bbls. pork ; 28 
firkins and 1,669 't)^- butter; one pipe and 123 galls, brandy; 
3 tons nail rod iron ; i ton bar iron. 

After the first years the theatre of war was South of New 
England, and the history of the times shows that New Eng- 
land was mostly exempt from the privations of the struggle. 

Mr. Sabine says that " during the most distressing periods 
of the contest, useless articles of luxury were imported 
into Boston. Extravagance in living in the }xar 1782 



94 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

would seem to have exceeded anything of the kind previ- 
ously known in Massachusetts;" and " Saml. Adams was 
filled with serious misgivings at the state of things which 
then prevailed." 

In the "Independent Chronicle" of Boston, 17th June, 
1779, " Coffee, Sugar, Windward Rum, Mollasses and bags of 
Cotton Wool," are advertised for sale ; all foreign articles it 
will be noted, indicating an extensive commerce. 

On the 6th of July, 1774, one hundred and four delegates 
from all parts of the Province, assembled in Charles Town, 
and voted a " non-importation " Resolution, which was con- 
firmed by all the Colonies, through delegates assembled in 
Philadelphia in September of that year. 

This sacrifice of material interests was made and contin- 
ued to the bitter end. The extent of it may be seen in the 
statement that Philadelphia exports amounted to ^700,000 
a year, yet scarce ^50,000 of this trade was with England — 
while Charles Town had almost her whole trade with Eng- 
land, and it was absolutely ruined by this measure of resis- 
tance to illegal taxation. 

On Sunday, 14th August, 1774, Rev. John Bullman 
preached a sermon in St. Michael's Church, which it was 
thought reflected on the popular proceedings. At the con- 
clusion of the services, the congregation by vote dismissed 
him, saying: " Now shall we see who are the Enemies of 
the Country." 

The effect of the news from Lexington (19th April, 1775,) 
was stimulating in the last degree; "a fierce spirit swelling 
for freedom was burning in every heart, all allegiance was 
considered as repealed — all ties sundered, as men reflected 
on the bloody plains of Lexington." 

On September 15th, 1775, Fort Johnson was a second 
time taken possession of, regularly garrisoned, and Colonel 
Moultrie devised for it a flag — -a blue field with a single 
silver crescent in the upper corner; and this symbol was 
worn on the caps of the first and second regiments. 

The next day Governor Campbell fled to the shelter of 
the " Tanicr^' carrying with him the great seal of the 



A ntc-Rcvolntionary Period — JJ^^-ijIj. 



95 



Province, and so ended the lonij line of Proprietary and 
Royal Governors, who had resided in Charlcstown one hun- 
dred and five years. For convenient reference I record 
here their names and dates of service. 



Under the Proprietary Government. 



1670- 
1671- 
1671- 
1674- 
1682- 
1684- 
1684- 
1684- 
1685- 
1686- 
1690- 
1692- 



-William Sayle. 
-Joseph West. 
-John Yeamans. 
-Joseph West. 
-Josepli Moilon. 
-Josepli West. 
-Richard Kiik. 
-Robert Quarry. 
-Joseph Morton. 
-James Colleton. 
-Seth Sothell. 
-Philip Ludwcll. 



1693- 
1694- 
1695- 
1696- 
1700- 
1703- 
1 709- 
1710- 
1712- 
1716- 
1719- 
1719- 



-Thonias Smith. 
-Jose])h Ulake. 
-John Arclulaic. 
-Joseph Blake. 
-James Moore. 
-Nathaniel Johnson. 
-Edward 'I'yne. 
-Robert (iihbs. 
-Charles Craven. 
-Robert Daniel. 
-Rol)ert Johnson. 
-James Moore. 



Under the temporary Repitbliean Government. 

1719 — Arthur Midilleton. 

Under the Royal Government. 



1 721 — P'rancis Nicholson. 
1725 — Arthur Middleton. 
1730 — -Robert Johnson. 
1735 — Thomas Brout^hton. 
1737 — William Bull. 
1743 — James Glen. 
1756 — William H. Littleton. 



1760— William Bull. 
1762' — Thomas Boone. 
1763— William Bull. 
1766 — Charles G. Montague. 
1769 — William Bull. 
1775— William Campbell. 



The first hostile shots fired in this harbor occurred on the 
nth November, 1775, when the " Tamer'' and " Cherokee^' 
sloops-of-\var, and the '' Defence."' exchanged shots with 
effect — Fort Johnson taking part in the affair. The war of 
independence in South Carolina dated from that day, and 
the action was quite spirited. 

On the i6th November a new Council of Safety was elect- 
ed — Henry Laurens was chosen President ; and with the 
immediate prospect of a war with Britain, there was not a 



96 TJie Centennial of Ineorporation. 

piece of gold or silver in the treasury, and there was i^ 1 26,500 
of paper currency out. In March, 1776, the ^r^-/ government 
of any of the American Colonies was formed in Charles 
Town, and "the die of Revolution was thus solemnly cast, 
and the usual baptism of free States, that of blood and fire, 
was shortly to be tried." 

Carrington, in his "Battles of the Revolution," says: 

" South Carolina thus boldly led the way to general inde- 
pendence by asserting her own, under John Rutledge as 
President, with Henry Laurens as Vice-President, and Wil- 
liam Henry Drayton as Chief Justice. An Army and Navy 
were created ; Privy Council and Assembly were elected, 
and the issue of six hundred thousand dollars of paper 
money was authorized, as well as the issue of coin ; and the 
first Republic of the New World began its life. - - * 
Massachusetts had began the year with substantial freedom. 
South Carolina put all the machinery of a nation into oper- 
ation with the opening spring." 

Early in May accounts were received announcing a Brit- 
ish fleet off the coast, under Sir Peter Parker, and it is only 
necessar}'- to mention that the memorable engagement of 
Fort Sullivan on 28th June, followed — with the complete 
repulse of the British fleet. 

I append a map of the localities, showing the position of 
fort and fleet, and an account of this engagement from an 
English source, which is not readily attainable elsewhere, 
and will prove interesting. 



THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

The pen of the historian has recorded the principal events 
in the great drama of war, of which this city was the cen- 
tre, from the day when Moultrie's guns, antedating the 
Declaration of Independence, sent answering signal back 
to Lexington and Concord, down to those closing days in 
1782, when the British garrison retired to their ships. The 
public spirit, the endurance and the sacrifice of the men 



ftol, Commo 
}eriment 
live - 
ebay 

IS quartered 2 
aptain Morri 
his right arm 
I, but none o\ 
d of the direi 
ve of much < 
(led, that it h 
that the fqua 
orts offered t 
: Tick. Th€ 
r. Chambers, 

Trapher to I 



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77' 



LIST of his Majcfty's Squadi-on commanded by Commodore Sir Peter Paricer, Knt. &c. on the Expedition agai.ift Fort SuKvanin South Carolim. 



t Comm 



Aflive 
Solebay 



; Sir PtUr Parker, Knt. 

^[fxander Scott. 
ffiUimi Williami. 
TlOTMJ Symms. 
Chnjlophr Alkm. 



Syren - - 
Sph) nx 

Friendlhip jm d 
Ranger Hoop 
Tlmndei- bomb 
St. Lawrence fclic 



Tobias Furmaux. 
Anthony Hunt. 
Charki Hope. 
Roger Willi. 
Jamti Rnd. 
Lieut. John Grand. 



XhefoHmiing Account of the Attack o/'Fort SutivAH « ixtraSlcd from the Letters of Commodore Sir Peter PARKER, Knt. and Lieut. General Clinton, to the Lorhfll>' ■^'''""'''''y- 



THE Commanders on the American ftation dcemin-. i[ expedient to make an attcm] 
in South Carolina, the fleet failed from Cape Fear on ihc iftof June, and on the 4th 
Town Bar. The 5lh founded-theBar, and bid down buoy, nfeparatoiy to the intended cnt 
The 7th all the frigates and nioft of the tranfports got over the Bar into Fiv 
C;;n;.»landcd on Long-Illand with about four or five hundred men. The to 



horedoffChatk 
intended entrance of the harboui 
i-Fathom Hole. The gih Gencr; 
h the BriHol cot over the Bat wit 



fomcOifGculty. The 15th the Commodore gave the Captains oflhc fquadtoi 
of the batteries on Sulivan's Ifland, and the next day he acquainted General CI, 
The General fixed on the 13d for their joint attack, but the 
efieA. The a5Ch the Experiment arrived, and next day 
made for the attack. The 28th, athalf^n hi 



arrangement for the attack 

that the ihips wc;e ready. 

,d provmg unfavourable prevented its talcing 

over the Bar, when a new arrangement was 

11 the morning. General Clin 



informed by 



fignal that the fquadron was going on the attack. At half an hour after ten the fignal was made to weigh ; 
•nd about > quarter after eleven theBriftcl.Experim.n'.'J'aive, and iolebay. brought up jvsamrt .he Tor,. 
The Thunder Bomb covered by the Friendlhip armed v.IT,!. brought the fil.ant Angle of the call baftion 10 
h«,r N W bv K. and Colonel Jam» threw feveral (hells aliule before and during the engagement in a vcrv 
^ H-,efl ion -n^ Spbvnx, Aaxon, and Sy.cn were to have been to the weftward, to preven t fire Ihip, 
good dirca^l^. T h« "P'-r"''' , n,i^ ,„„„d, to enfilade the works, and. if the rebels Ihould be driven 
or other ""^^ «,-;; f^^..", ."^ ^offible! This .aft fervice was not performed, owing to.the ignorance 
from them, ,0 cut oft their retrep^ TheSphynx and Syren got off in afewhours, but the 

AatCl cVftft Im the «xt horning, when the Captain and Oficers thought proper t, fcuttle and let 

her on lire. ^^^ Captain, Officers, and Company, of the Acla;on, and they were 

A Court-martial was ordered 011 ^^^ ^^ ^^^ fq^jdron being a-breaft of the fort, which wis near ten hours, 
honourabty acquitted. """"8 ' = ' ;,,, ;„„„ j,, and tlicy had the fatisfaaion, after b.ing engaged two 
> brift fire "» '"'" "l" '^ „ V .Lr fi.e very much. Largepart.es were drove fov.-ial limes out of the 
hcs. .0 oblige the 'f -° "»;,t::stm the »In. About h'alfin hour after th™. a confArable rein- 
fort, whict were repU«d by >««" '™_^^_^ „„ a tree a. the back of the fort, and it was imasined tliat the 
ftarainent from Wount PleafanI hung ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^_^ ^^ _^^^ ^^^^^^ fjeoced, and evacuated for near one 
fame party tan away about an h»" ■ „„,j ^^^ j^^^ polTeffion, about fix o'clock a con- 

hour and an half 1 hut the rebels findn.g tn 

LONDON : P"o«d and Sold by ^VILLIAM FA DEN, Succcfibr to tiie lale M . 



fiderablc body of people re-entered the fort, and renewed the firing from two or three g«n!. 'I" "" '"'"E. 
we fuppofe, difmountcd About nine o'clock, it being very dark, great part of our amnuni"™ expended, 
the people fatigujd, the tide of ebb almoft done, no profpeS from the Eaftward, and »pol''l|''"y "' ""'■ 
being of any farther fervice, the Commodore order'd the fliips to withdraw to their for* moorings. 

General Orawn lauded his troops on Long llland, which had been reprefentcdtohim aitommunicaung with 
.Sulivan's llland by a Ford, palTable at low water ; but he found the channel which was itfO'W' "' °"' ''"° 
eighteen inches deep, to be! fcven feet deep j which circumftancc rendered it impoOibltlo' *'"""'' '" f" 
that air.rtance to the «eer in the attack m.ide upon the fotttcfs, that the General intenM '" *' ""'. 
the attack, the Briftol had the whole of her mizen and half her main mail (hot away, ajj"" ™'" °" '''°' 
the Experiment, Capt. Scott, was almoft unrigg'd, which with the Brillol had fcverM" '■^""i" .' 
lida, and their colours (hot in pieces : the Sphynx had her bowfprit Olot away, and tl< »'"''' '"" reccivetl 
conn Jerable damage. ' ' 

T„=B,mo,, Commodore's (hip ""^ " "" "f ""ro.'^'' 

r^e Experiment - _ j6 

The Aaive . . . ." " ^^ ' 6 

The Solebay _ _ _ ' " g 

lan who was quartered 

unded. Captain Morj 

voundcd in bis right arr 



Noto 



lafter V 



thebcginning of the aflion on the BrilW'f^'" '''''"^f^P"' being 
loft his right arm, and received other «"«* '"'' " '"'"" ^"^^ • '■^' 
irm, but will recover the ufe of I'r • tb,. Cioi'"'''" received feveral con- 
tuuons at uitterent times, but none of them were dan-eious Lord W' I'L CWpl«">= V"'"""^""" board 
the Bi.ftol, who accepted of the J ireflion.of fome guns on the lower ,m d«k. '«''•"' ^ "'"'■J'';'-' on hi: 
left fide, but d,d not proveof much confequence. Cant Scott of .he FxoerimMt. loft hi, left arm, and was 
otherwife fo much wo.iided, that it is feared he will not ricover -L^uf pCf ■« ^aive was killed. 

Whin It was known that the fquadron had many men too weak to come to I""""' '''""'* all the feamen 
bclnnging to the trjnfports offered their firvicc with a truly BtiiKh foirit up""*'"'''.' ""= accepted to 
fupply the place of the lick. The maftcrs of many of the trmrpoits attended w*""!' boats during the 
attack, pa.ticul..rly Mr. Chambers, the mailer of the Mercury-. 

^oM.^s Jf-rrLuvs, Geographtr (o the KING, lie Coiner of JH UaTm\IJ><'-'^'^'''i-Crefi. 



aasr 



ZT 




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Close of the Revolutionary War. 97 

and women of Charleston were not excelled, if equalled, by 
any other community, tested in that struggle. A volume 
might be written of these things, but this occasion does not 
permit. After the dungeon .md the prison-ship had done 
their worst, and the " insolence of office " had been heroical- 
ly borne, the day of deliverance finally came, and for many 
reasons the portrayal of this closing scene should have place 
in this day's record — that joyous occasion, when, after thirty- 
one months of captivity and of disgraceful cruelties, the 
people of Charles Town, surviving all, witnessed on the 13th 
and 14th December, 1782. the slow embarkation from Gads- 
den's Wharf of over 9,000 civilians and slaves, and also the 
British soldiery, aboard three hundred sail of ships, stretch- 
ing in a far reaching semi-circle around the great circuit of 
our spacious harbor. The most significant feature of that 
occasion is the character and destination of the people mov- 
ing under " the meteor flag of England " — 3,794 whites and 
5,333 slaves. (Exeter Hall had not been erected and occu- 
pied in 1782.) These figures of the exodus as here given 
are preserved among the manuscripts of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society. 

Return of People Embarked from South Carolina, ijth and 
i^th Deceviber, IJ82. 

To WHAT Place. Men. Womem. Children. Blacks. Total. 

Jamaica 600 300 378 2,613 3.891 

East Florida 630 306 337 1,653 2,926 

East Florida 166 57 iig 558 goo 

England 137 74 63 56 330 

Halifax 163 133 121 53 470 

New York 100 40 50 50 240 

St. Lucia 20 ... .... 350 370 

1,816 910 1,068 5,333 9.127 

The narrative of the re-occupation of Charlestown is told 
by eye witnesses. 

General Moultrie states that at 3 o'clock the same after- 
noon (14th) General Greene, Governor Matthews, himself 
13 



•98 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

and others, with a few citizens and a guard of dragoons, rode 
into Charlestown, and halted in Broad Street near the 
spot where we are now assembled. 

"There we alighted," he continues, "and the cavalry dis- 
charged to quarters; afterwards every one went where they 
pleased ; some in viewing the town, others in visiting their 
friends." 

" I cannot forget," adds the General, " that happy day 
when we marched into Charlestown with the American 
troops; it was a proud day to me, and I felt mystlf much 
elated at seeijig the balconies, the doors and windows 
crowded with the patriotic fair, the aged citizens, and 
others, congratulating us on our return home, saying ' God 
bless you, gentlemen ! You are welcome home, gentlemen ! ' 
Both citizens and soldiers shed mutual tears of joy." 

So, also. Colonel Peter Horry, of Marion's Brigade, who 
accompanied the advance corps into the city, describes 
somewhat fervently the scenes of the occasion and the sen- 
sations he felt : 

"On the memorable 14th of December, 1782," he writes, 
"we entered and took possession of our capital, after it had 
been two years seven months and two days in the hands of 
the enemy. The style of our entry was quite novel and 
romantic. On condition of not being molested while em- 
barking, the I3ritish had offered to leave the town unhurt. 
Accordingly, at the firing of a signal gun in the morning, 
as agreed on, they quitted their advance works near the 
town gate, while the Americans, moving on close in the 
rear, followed them all along through the city down to the 
water's edge, where they embarked on board their three 
hundred ships, which, moored out in the bay in the shape ' 
of an immense half-moon, presented a most magnificent ap- 
pearance. The morning was as lovely as pure wintry air 
and cloudless sunbeams could render it, but rendered far 
lovelier still by our procession, if I ma}- so call it, which was 
well calculated to awaken the most pleasurable feelings. In 
front were the humble remains of that proud army, which, 
one and thirty months ago, captured our city, and thence, 



Post Retohitionary Period. 99 

in the drunkenness of victory, had hurled menaces and cru- 
elties disgraceful to the British name. And close in the 
rear, was our band of patriots, bending forward with martial 
music and flying colors, to play the last joyful act in the 
drama of their Country's deliverance, to proclaim liberty to 
the captive, to recall the s.\'>ile on the cheek of sorrow, and 
to make the heart of the widow leap for joy. Oh ! it was a 
day of jubilee indeed ; a day of rejoicing never to be forgot- 
ten. Smiles and tears were on every face." 



POST REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 

Having thus presented the closing scene in the Revolu- 
tionary war history of our city, we are brought to the 
threshold of a new era, when she was to put on municipal 
robes and enter upon a new career. 

"A mighty hand from an exhaustless Uin 
Fours forth tlie never-ending flood of years 
Among the Nations ***** 
* * * * On their foremost edge 

And there alone is life." 

As we stand here, looking back over the track of the 
wonderful century, closing for us to-day, what an illimita- 
ble field of thought and reflection opens before us. What 
great events, wonderful inventions, and progress in the 
useful arts we may enumerate, and the successful applica- 
tion since of invention and science to them ; of the tri- 
umphs of the spinning-jenny, the spinning-frame and the 
power-loom — hundred-handed, like Briareus and his giant 
brothers of old ; the use of water for power instead of 
hand ; the steam engine, the cotton gin, steam navigation, 
rice mills, the telegraph, by land and sea; night turned 
into day by the hurtless lightning, and of the Michigan 
Telegraph Boy, to whom " God lent so divine a vision, that 
he has seen and measured, and has harnessed to our service 

L.ofC. 



lOO The Centennial of Incorporation. 

the subtlest forces of nature, and we look on in wonder, as 
at Edison's command dumb matter speaks the word that 
died away weeks ago upon the empty air, and falls upon 
the ear again, -with a living voiced 

This, then, is the Century, upon whose wonderful stream 
of progress and performance our city was commissioned to 
act her part. Let us scan the record of the hundred years 
since, and tell at Jeast some portion of the story of Charles- 
ton's first Century of municipal life. 

THE FIRST INTENDANT. 

The Act of the General Assembly which incorporated 
Charleston August 13th, 1783, was from the pen of Richard 
Hutson, whose name stands /?ri-^ on the roll of Intendants, 
and the memorial tablet you this day unveil could record 
no worthier name in our City's history. The mention of 
it calls up the lawyer, soldier, legislator, chancellor, who, 
the better to aid his country in her arduous struggle for 
liberty, passed from the possession of large wealth to indi- 
gence and poverty. General C. C. Pinckney said of him, 
that he knew of no single citizen to whom Carolina was 
more indebted for active zeal and perpetual sacrifices in 
her behalf, bearing even a severe captivity in a prison-ship 
at St. Augustine with uncomplaining patience and fidelity 
to the end. It should make us feel prouder of our city, 
that this true citizen in war should have had full recogni- 
tion when peace was proclaimed, and should have been 
awarded the first place in the City government at the first 
election. In this new station, as our annals tell us, he had 
to deal with many turbulent spirits, intent to disturb the 
peace of society, the natural sequence of war. Mobs ap- 
peared, some mischief was done and a good deal contem- 
plated, but by his zeal, firmness and activity he finally put 
down all irregularities and preserved the public honor and 
the public peace. 

South Carolina, too, was not unmindful of Richard Hut- 
son, having called him, with John Rutledge and John Ma- 
thews, to the Bench in 1781, as one of the three first Chan- 





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Conintercial History. lOi 

cellors. Wc enjoy the freedom he gave his all to secure ; 
we do well to carve his name first on the snow-white cen- 
tennial marble, that his name and his example may be per- 
petuated to coming generations. 

The war of the Revolution had prostrated Charleston, 
commercially and financially, and the glowing narrative of 
her wealth and commercial importance in 1773 had given 
place to poverty and hardships ten years later. The Fede- 
ral Union, the State and the city were in the shadow of 
bankruptcy, disorganization was general, and the people 
were brought face to face with a gloomy condition of 
affairs. The readjustment of commercial and social bal- 
ances, after such a strain of the body politic, was a slow 
and trying process, and it took years to reach a stable con- 
dition. The first sign of revival was when our harbor was 
whitened with the sails of commerce, " that enlarger of the 
human mind, binding the ends of the earth together in 
golden chains," which brought bustle and movement on 
the water front, and renewed activity to our local industries. 



COMMERCIAL HISTORY. 

An association of merchants, under the name of the 
Charleston Chamber of Commerce, existed here in the 
Colonial times. In Wells' Register and Almanac for 1775, 
the charges on protested Bills of Exchange are printed, as 
the action of the Chamber. It will be a satisfaction to all 
of our guild to know this, and to learn that within six 
months after the incorporation of Charleston the Chamber 
was again brought into existence. 

Quoting from the original Minute Book, still preserved 
as a valued memento of a hundred years ago by this useful 
and venerable Society, it appears that at meetings held 4th 
and 6th February, 1784, eighteen rules for the government 
of the Chamber were adopted, and a preamble, which re- 
cites that " the advantages arising from commerce to every 
State are so universally acknowledged that it has been an 



I02 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

object of constant and utmost attention ; hence any at- 
tempt to extend commerce, encourage industry, and adjust 
disputes relative to trade and navigation, must deserve the 
approbation of every well-wisher of his country. With these 
views, mercantile societies have been formed in trading 
cities, and proved equally beneficial and useful. In order 
to effect in this city an institution of the like nature, a con- 
siderable number of merchants met," &c. 

What will be regarded as of great interest is the preser- 
vation, through the vicissitudes of a century, of the auto- 
graph signatures of the first seventy members, which are re- 
produced herewith. The perusal of these names will recall 
many noted citizens, who, with their descendants since, have 
been prominently identified with the commercial fortunes 
of our city. 

This brief mention of the Chamber of Commerce, soon to 
commemorate its centennial, suggests a consideration of the 
tonnage of the port in that first business year after inde- 
pendence had been fully achieved. The principal articles 
of export were indigo, rice, tobacco, naval stores, timber and 
skins. Twelve ships, one bark and two brigs arrived during 
that year from the coast of Africa laden with slaves, each 
vessel averaging two hundred persons, total about three 
thousand slaves ; mostly tonnage from Old and New England. 

List of Vessels Sailing from the Port of Charleston for the 

year ijS^. 

8i ships — total tonnage say 28,000 tons: 60 sailed for 
European ports, 9 sailed for W^est India, 7 sailed for Phila- 
delphia, 5 to Savannah for orders. 

139 brigs — total tonnage say 2i,oco tons: 53 sailed for 
European ports, 42 sailed for West India, 15 sailed for 
Philadelphia, 1 1 sailed for Wilmington, 5 sailed for Boston, 
5 sailed for New York, 5 sailed for Savannah, 3 sailed for 
Rhode Island. 

226 schooners — total tonnage say 23,000 tons: 39 West 
India ports, 27 Northern ports, 160 to the neighboring ports 
of Wilmington, Savannah and St. Augustine. 



Couimercial History. 103 

160 sloops — total tonnage say 10,000 tons: 3 foreign 
ports — London 3, Antwerp i ; 35 Northern ports, 47 West 
India ports. 75 to Wilmington, Savannah and St. Augustine. 

Aggregate tonnage 82,000. 

A total of 606 vessels, with an average tonnage of only 
135 to each. Only one bark-rigged vessel arrived in 1784, 
and that was a slaver. 

In 1882 there were 1,076 clearings, with an average ton- 
nage of 625 each, equal to 672,500 tons. This comparative 
exhibit of ship arrivals shows at a glance the growth of 
commerce at rhis port for the hundred years. It is not 
possible to furnish a particular account of the value of the 
exports and imports as a whole, the coastwise cargoes not 
being entered at the Custom House in value, but the state- 
ment of tonnage will suffice for illustration of the increase 
of commerce at this port. 

UPLAND COTTON. 

In considering the wonderful growth of cotton in the 
Southern States within the last century, we call up an at- 
tractive topic. Before alluding to its marvellous develop- 
ment in its relation to Charleston, it will be interesting to 
note its place and progress in the world. 

Herodotus, four hundred years before Christ, tells us that 
the wild trees of India " bear fleeces as their fruit, surpass- 
ing those of sheep in beauty and excellence, and the Indians 
use cloths made from thes- trees." Nearchus, the Admiral 
of Alexander the Great, reports a machine, equivalent to a 
roller gin, in use among the Hindoos, which separated the 
lint from the seed, and describes trees in India bearing as it 
were bunches of wool, out of which the natives make gar- 
ments, wearing a shirt reaching to the knee, a sheet folded 
around the shoulder, and a turban folded around the head. 
The Greeks and Romans early used cotton goods to a 
limited extent as articles of exquisite luxury before they 
were acquainted with silk. " Sixty-three years before Christ, 
cotton awnings were used in the theatre at the Appollina- 
rian games, and Csesar covered the whole Roman Forum 



104 ^^^^ Centennial of Incorporation. 

and the VlA Sacra from his own house even to the ascent 
of the Capitoh'ne hill, which appeared more wonderful than 
the gladiatorial exhibition itself." 

The culture of cotton commenced first in the East, and 
has been handed down for thousands of years, for I find 
that cotton was cultivated in gardens from remote antiquity 
in Chiria, yet this ingenious people never turned it to any 
account until the end of the thirteenth century, when it was 
first manufactured. In Central Africa cotton has also been a 
staple growth time out of memory; it is also of indigenous 
American growth. On the first landing of the Spaniards in 
Mexico they found it in considerable perfection, and the 
Mexicans seemed to be dependent upon this product, the 
wool of rabbits, feathers, and a fibrous plant called maguei, 
for their clothing materials, having neitlier wool, hemp or 
silk, and their flax was not used for these purposes. The 
able Clavigero says: "Out of cotton they fabricated nets of 
exceeding tenuity and as delicate and pure as those of Hol- 
land, and their cloths were interwoven into beautiful figures 
with the soft wool of rabbits ; mantles, bed curtains and 
carpets they finished elegantly with mingled cotton and 
feathers." When Cortez entered the City of Mexico in 1 5 19, 
Montezuma honored him " with gifts of finest cotton fab- 
rics," showing not only that this plant was cultivated in 
that country, but that they had knowledge of weaving 
nearly three centuries before the mechanical inventions of 
Hargreaves, Arkwright, Compton, Cartwright, Whitney and 
Watt multiplied for us the production and uses of cotton. 
Cortez sent to Charles V, of Spain, " cotton mantles, some all 
white, others mixed with white and black or red, green, 
yellow and blue, waistcoats, handkerchiefs, counterpanes, 
tapestries and carpets of cotton." Columbus found it wild 
in Hispaniola, and on the continent of South America, where 
it had already grown into an article of use for clothing and 
other purposes, the Brazilians making beds of it. Magellan 
and Drake make the surprising statement that cotton was 
one of the articles of dress among the American savages on 
their finding of the country. 



Commercial Histoi'y. 105 

Schoolcraft, in his " History of the Indian Tribes," gives 
this exceedingly interesting statennent : 

" Spinning was practiced to a considerable extent among 
the Caribs, and the aborigines of all the West India Islands, 
even where little or no clothing was used. On landing on 
Guaguhana, Columbus found the inhabitants perfectly nak- 
ed ; and yet the women, he observes, had abundance of cot- 
ton yarn, and would exchange balls of it weighing twenty- 
five pounds, for the merest trifles. Of this they made their 
beds, which were suspended between two posts, and named 
hamacs, a name adopted by and in universal use among sea- 
men. In the same year (1492), he found the women of 
Cuba had a slight covering of netted cotton ; and in their 
houses large quantities of yarn, both wrought (woven or 
netted) and unwrought. In St. Domingo a chief gave to 
each of the Spaniards a dress of cotton. In his third voy- 
age, the inhabitants of the Gulf of Paria were observed with 
bands or fillets of cotton about their heads, and colored cloths 
of the same about their loins. 

"On another part of the coast, these cloths were beauti- 
fully wrought with various colors, so as to look like silk. In 
Yucatan similar embroidered garments were seen. These 
things were frequently offered for barter, but it does not ap- 
pear that any of the discoverers thought it worth his while 
to record the processes of their fabrication. It was the 
plates of gold worn by the men that stimulated inquiry, not 
the simple occupations of the women ; and hence not a syl- 
lable seems to have been put on record by the conquerors 
respecting native spinning and weaving. 

" It is really surprising how the numerous quantities of 
thread consumed in ancient Mexico, were ever made by so 
slow and awkward a process. The men were well clothed, 
and the women appeared to have been as comfortably dress- 
ed as country people with us are. Then there were ham- 
mocks, bedding, and constant demands for the warriors to 
be provided. A few items from the tax tables, given in the 
paintings, will show how heavy were the demands which 
spinsters had to meet in addition to those of their own fam- 
14 



To6 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

ilics. Cotton in bales, in yarn, and in blankets or mantles, 
caps and other parts of warrior's dresses, were regularly con- 
tributed. By single towns, four hundred bales of cotton 
wool was a common tax. A single town twenty-four hun- 
dred bundles of mantles (ponchos or blankets)," &c. 

It may be thought out of place to introduce this informa- 
tion about cotton in the far off past, but it will prove new 
and interesting information to most of my readers. 

A still more curious fact is, that objects of stone and clay, 
resembling spindle whorls, have been found in the Indian 
mounds of the West, supposed to have been built before 
the Christian era. 

The early discoverers of the Mes-cha-cebe, or Mississippi, 
and its tributary streams, claim to have seen cotton growing 
wild and in great plenty. In 1726 cotton was a staple pro- 
duct of Hispaniola, and in 1753 Jamaica exported 2,000 bags. 
In 1740-48 the average annual export from Barbadoes for 
the eight years was 600 bags. 

In the 1781-89 period, just previous to the advent of 
American cotton, England imported 150,000,000 pounds, or 
an average of 16,000,000 or 17,000,000 pounds per annum, 
and the sources of these supplies are seen in this exhibit for 
one of these years: 

From British West Indies 5,800,000 lbs. 

French and Spanish Colonies 5,500,000 " 

Dutch Colonies 1,600,000 " 

Portuguese Colonies 2,000,000 " 

Smyrna.or Turkey 5,000,000 " 

19,900,000 " 

To protect and encourage the English carrying trade from 
those countries, there was a stipulation in Jay's Treaty (1792) 
against the importation of American cotton into England, 
but this was stricken out by the United States Senate. 
This is mentioned to show how little importance was at- 
tached by Mr. Jay to American cotton at that date. 

In contrast with the present condition of cotton let us 
look at the plant in our own country in the seventeenth 



Commercial History. 107 

and eighteenth centuries. Cotton was first cultivated in 
America in 162 1, and " tlieir plentiful coming up was a sub- 
ject of interest in America and England." In Carroll's His- 
torical Collections mention is made of its growth in 1666, 
and the plant was found to grow well on the Ashley in the 
first years of the settlement there (1670-71). In 1748, 
among the exports from Charles Town were " 7 bags of 
cotton wool," valued at about $16 a bag; in 1770 three bags 
more were sent to England. In the year 1784 John Teasdale, 
a merchant of Charleston, shipped from this city to J. & J. 
Teasdale & Co., Liverpool, eight bags of cotton. When 
the vessel arrived out the laughable incident occurred of 
the cotton being seized on the ground that it could not 
have been grown in America, Upon satisfactory proof, 
which had to be furnished, it was released. This cotton 
shipment was the first ever made from the United States to 
a European port. 

To show the obscurity of this plant, Mr. T. Coxe, of 
Philadelphia, writing in Rees' Encyclopedia, says: " Not a 
single bale of cotton was exported from this country of 
native growth before 1787," and in Smithers' History of 
Liverpool the eight bales above referred to are claimed to 
have been received from the Spanish Main, or the West 
Indies, and reshipped at Charleston. 

The export of cotton to Europe was: 



In 1785 (Charleston) 14 Bags. 

17S6 6 " 

17S7 109 " 



In 1788 3S0 Bags. 

1789 842 " 

1790 81 " 



It is evident that there was a failure of the American 
crop in the last year. I have no means of knowing what 
effect was produced on the Liverpool Exchange, but it may 
be supposed that cotton speculation started then. How 
much was taken by " speculators," how much for " manu- 
factures," or how much for "export," has never been re- 
corded. Of the fourteen bags sqnt to Europe in 1785, ten 
bags were shipped by John Teasdale, who, it was said, had 
bought the year before the first bag of American cotton 
ever grown in South Carolina. 



io8 



The Centennial of Incorporatioii. 



The prices of cotton at United States ports in 1790-1801 
were as follows : 



1790 I4>^ 

1791 26 

1792 29 

1793 32 

1794 33 

1795 ' 36K 



1796 Z^Yz 

1797 34 

1798 39 

1799 44 

1800 28 

1801 44 



In 1 8 14, on account of the war, it had declined to 15 
cents; 1815, 21 cents; 1816, 29^ cents; 1817, 26^ cents; 
1818, 34 cents; and again declined to 15 cents 1824, and in 
1825 rose to 21 cents. For the ten ensuing years the price 
averaged about 10 cents. 

We have now to point out the marvellous development 
of cotton culture. This plant, always suited to our soil and 
climate, but limited by the difficulty of separating the seed 
from the fibre to uses purely domestic, and a culture so 
small as hardly to be estimated, rose at once after Whitney's 
invention of the cotton gin to the highest commercial im- 
portance. The immense areas of uncultivated land in the 
South seemed provided for the accommodation of this great 
crop. Its introduction energized the Southern people and 
opened a wide field for exertion ; indigence might now hope 
for cotnpetency, and competency aspire to wealth ; new 
labor was introduced from abroad or transferred from sur- 
rounding States, and under the impulse thus given to in- 
dustry, wealth and refinement spread through the land, and 
that progress which is ordinarily the slow result of years 
was realized immediately. 

The great factor in this wonderful growth was that mar- 
vellous invention to which is justly attributable the found- 
ing of what has come to be called the Empire 01 Cotton. 
It has rarely, if ever, occurred that the invention of a single 
machine has given employment to so many millions of 
people, and has added so much to the substantial wealth 
and resources of the world. Those of Arkwright for spin- 
ning cotton, and Fulton for propelling vessels by steam can 



Commercial History. 109 

alone in these respects be compared with it ; here is the 
simple story : 

Mr. Eli Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, a gentleman 
of liberal culture and great mechanical talent, was gradu- 
ated from Yale College in 1792, and went to Georgia to 
teach in the family of Mrs. Miller, a sister of General Greene. 
In her house he met many planters, all of whom regretted 
that so valuable a product which Georgia could produce so 
easily should be useless because of the difficulty of separating 
the cotton from the seed. He there noticed the difficult 
operation of picking the seed from the lint by hand. 
He studied the subject, and the result was the saw gin ; 
his whole work was perfected in Mrs. Miller's house. I have 
before me a copy of the " Letters Patent," dated 14th 
March, 1794, to Eli Whitney, attached to which is the de- 
scription of the machine and a complete set of illustrations. 
Soon after the patent was granted the machines were put 
upon the market, eagerly sought for, and their use initiated 
that great development which is so fully illustrated in the 
statistics which accompany this narrative.* 

To the honor of South Carolina let the record be per- 
petuated ; the General Assembly paid the great inventor 
$50,000 for the free use of the gin in South Carolina. 
North Carolina and Tennessee made some compensation 
for similar rights, but the State where the benefits from 
this machine were clearly the greatest, not only withheld 
remuneration, but opposed it in the Federal Courts. It 
was the good fortune of a South Carolinian, Judge William 
Johnson, of the Supreme Bench, after thirteen years of 
costly litigation to the plaintiff, to preside on Circuit, and 
decide in Mr. Whitney's favor. In his charge to the jury, 
he did full justice to the original inventor, as well as to the 

*A pateiil for a cotton gin was issued under date of I2th May, 1796, to Hog- 
den Holmes, which was operated by water-power on Mill Creek, Fairfield 
County, S. C, in the mill house of Mr. Kincaid, and is reported to have 
worked well. Eli Whitney's patent was contested in the United States Court, 
in the Georgia District, for thirteen years, during which protracted period I can 
find no trace of the Holmes patent, while the final judicial decision was in favor 
of Whitney, whose machines were then universally in use. 



no The Centennial of Incorporation. 

great importance and utility of the invention itself. To 
South Carolinians such an association with this wonderful 
instrument is properly a subject of pride and satisfaction. 

The hand-loom was in use until 1813. The secret of the 
power-loom was so well kept in England, that the crude 
efforts to reproduce it in this country from the recollections 
of operatives from England, were not successful until 1822; 
and the first statistics of cotton manufacture were not re- 
ported before 1840, and now the American mill product 
aggregates $200,000,000 a year. 

The following statistical exhibit will show the marvellous 
work accomplished through the instrumentality of Whit- 
ney's cotton gin, the spinning-jenny and the power-loom ! 

There were exported in 1791 of all kinds of cotton, 
189,316 pounds, equal to 473 bags of 400 pounds, for all the 
ports. Whitney's gin came into use in the year 1794, and 
in 1795, 5,276,306 pounds, equal to 13,191 bales of 400 
pounds, were exported. In 1838, 595,952,297 pounds, equal 
to 1,489,880 bales of 400 pounds each, were exported, while 
in a recent year, 3,150,000,000 pounds, equal to 7,875,000 
bales of 400 pounds each, were grown in a single crop, of 
which 274,500,000 pounds, equal to 685,000 bales of 400 
pounds each, were shipped from this port alone, and the 
wants of the world now require 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 bales 
of American cotton. To-day there are 1,619,000 acres of 
land in South Carolina devoted to upland cotton culture, 
with a product of more than half a million bales of 500 
pounds weight. 

The introduction of cotton into Europe, and its manu- 
facture, are events which have had amazing results, exert- 
ing, it is difficult to say, how large an influence on society 
and governments. The wealth and power of Great Britain, 
acknowledged and felt by all the world, have a nearer con- 
nection with the cotton plant and cotton manufacture than 
with any other plant or industry whatever. McCulloch 
says: "The influence of the stupendous discoveries of 
Hargreaves, Arkwright, Compton, Cartwright and others, 
have overcome all difficulties ; neither the cheapness of 



Commercial History. Ill 

labor in Hitidoostan, nor excellence to which the natives 
had attained, have enabled them to stand the competition 
of Ens^land's purchase of their cotton, and after carrying it 
5,000 miles to he manufactured, transporting the goods 
back, and sellin;^ them to the growers ; a grand triumph of 
mechanical genius, and accomplished in a very few years. 

LONG STAPLE COTTON. 

Between the Ashley and the Savannah Rivers the coast 
of Carolina is lined with what are known as the sea 
islands; the largest and most numerous are around St. 
Helena Sound and Broad River. In area these islands 
represent 500 square miles, exclusive of salt marsh ; but of 
this area there were only 23,887 acres, equal to about 37^ 
square miles, in cotton cultivation in 1879. Here is grown 
those fine grades of cotton which have made the Charles- 
ton market famous in the world. Less than one hundred 
years ago one bag of sea island cotton was the export. 
This was grown on St, Simon's Island, Georgia, in 1788, 
from seed brought from a West India island. Mr. Kinsey 
Burden, of South Carolina, obtained some of this seed and 
planted without result, and it was not until 1790 that Mr. 
William Elliott was successful with a small crop grown on 
the Northwest part of Hilton Head Island, said to be the 
spot where Ribault landed the first Colonists from France 
in 1562. This cotton sold for twenty-one cents per pound. 
Subsequently, in 1805, Mr. Burden began selecting seed, 
and through this process, noting results year by year and 
keeping his secret, he was enabled to improve the staple, 
and in 1825 he sold a crop of 60 bags at $1.16 per pound, 
and continuing his careful attention to seed selection and 
cultivation, he sold in 1828 two bags at $2 per pound. 
From that date the secret became generally known that 
the fineness of the cotton was due to skillful selection of 
seed, and careful cultivation, and to such perfection has the 
staple been brought by this means that entire crops have 



112 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

been sold, not by samples, but by the brand on the bag, as 
the finest wines are sold. To prevent frauds hi marks, 
many planters placed cards, with their names and the name 
and locality of the plantation, and the brand printed on 
them, in the bag while being packed ; and some planters in 
packing their finest grade cottons also covered the inside of 
the coarse bagging in which it was packed with close-tex- 
tured cotton goods to protect the contents from dust in 
transit. There was great pride in those days among the 
sea island planters as to the market results of their crops, 
as it indicated the degree of perfection in their culture. 

The war of 1860-5 brought utter ruin to these splendid 
planting operations during its continuance. Ihe seed car- 
ried to the interior deteriorated in quality in a different 
soil and climate, and so scarce was choice seed from this 
cause in 1865-6, that Mr. Jos. T. Dill at one time had, in 
an ordinary letter envelope, the seed from which all the 
present fine long staple cottons have been since derived. 
This seed had been saved by the late Capt. George C. Hey- 
ward, and given to Mr. Dill, with the assurance of its great 
value. From this small beginning, and under the old per- 
fecting process of seed selection and careful culture, the 
sea island cottons are once again produced up to the best 
grades of earlier years, although from many causes the 
demand for these extra fine grades is so limited as not to 
warrant more than the preparation of a small percentage 
of the whole crop. The proportion of lint to seed cotton 
has since 1865 been increased ; formerly, one pound of lint 
cotton to five pounds of seed cotton was regarded satisfac- 
tory. Thanks to Mr. Clark, of James Island, a fine variety 
of long staple cotton has been produced in late years, which 
yields one pound of lint to three and a half pounds of seed 
cotton. Despite the sweeping disaster of the war, the sea 
islands have since been developed to a considerable extent. 

For convenient reference, I give the sea island cotton 
crop figures at Charleston for the 1842-83 period, furnished 
by Mr. Jos. T. Dill, of tjjis city; 



Commercial History. 



113 



1842 20,461 

1843 24,291 

1844 19.136 

1845 28,472 

1846 30,201 

1847 21,105 

1848 21,925 

1849-50 28,833 

1S50-51 28,362 

1S51-52 29,990 

1S52-53 32,814 

1853-54 39.686 

1854-55 40,841 

1855-56. 45.512 

1856-57 45.314 

1857-5S 40,566 

1858-59 47.592 

1859-60 46,413 

1S60-61 War 

1S61-62 War 

1862-63 War 



Bags. 

1863-64 War 

1864-65 War 

1865-66 19,015 

1866-67. • • •, 33,326 

1867-68 20,927 

1868-69 17.956 

1869-70 ^ 27,018 

1870-71 21,348 

1871-72 15,922 

1872-73 26,289 

1873-74 19,912 

1874-75 17-027 

1875-76 14,996 

1876-77 17,823 

1877-78 22.3S8 

1878-79 19,900 

1879-80 27,077 

1880-81 36,815 

1881-82 36,960 

1882-83 36.143 



The following .statement is compiled from DeBovv's Re- 
view ; and for a portion of the period the prices are given, 
all of which will be useful for reference: 

Exports of Sea Island Cotton from i8oj to 18^2. 



Year. Quantity — Lbs. 
1805 8,787,659 

1806 6,096,082 

1807 8,926,011 

1808 949,051— Emb'rgo 

1S09 8,664,213 

1810 8,604,078 

iSll 8,029,576 

1812 4,367,806— War. 



Year. 



Quantity — Lbs. 



1813 4.134.8491 

1814 2,520,388 s 

I8I5 7,449.951 

1816. . . 9,900,326 

I8I7 8,101,880 

I81S 3,080,838] 

1819 3,442,186 

1820 6,020,101 



C War. 



From 

So. Ca. 

only. 



Year. Quantity — Lbs. Price. Average 

1821 11,344,066 l2>^@3od. ^l%A. 

\'?i'2.l 11,250,635 10 @2Sd. I9d, 

1823 12,136,688 II @24d. I7>^d. 

1824 9,525,722 ii«4:@27d. 19/4^ (•• 

1825 9,655,278 15 @42d. 28>^d. 

1826 5,972,852 10 @3od. 2od. 

1827 15,140,798 9^@2od. I4^d. 

15 



Price. 


Average 


10 @22d. 


l6d. 


9 @2ld. 


I5cl. 


Il^@20d. 


i6d. 


9>^@i8d. 


i3Xd. 


9>^@i8d. 


isHd- 


10>^@22d. 


i6Xd. 


i3K@26d. 


iQ^d. 


14 @33d. 


24Kd. 


14 @36d. 


25d. 


12 @4od. 


26d. 











T14 77^<? Centennial of Incorporation. 

Year. Quantity — Lbs. 

1828 11,288,419 

1829 12,833,307 

1830 8,147,165 

1S31 8,311,762 

1832 8,743,373 

1833 11,142,987 

1834 8,085,935 

1835 7.752.736 

1836 8,554419 

1837 5,286,340 

1838 7,286,340 

1839 5,107,404 

1S40 8,770,669 

1841 6,400,000 — 20,000 bags@300 lbs. each 

TOBACCO AS A CROP. 

The wonderful spread of cotton culture extinguished the 
production of tobacco, which was found not to be as profit- 
able as the new plant. In 1791 there was received at this 
port about eight thousand hogsheads, weighing about a ton 
each. The inspection of tobacco was regulated by the 
State, and the Citadel buildings now occupy the site of the 
Tobacco Inspection, where it was received, examined and 
stored. It is not possible to state with accuracy the total 
product of tobacco in this State, for the receipts here do 
not show it. Much of the crop of the upper part of the 
State found its way to North Carolina and Virginia markets. 
The plant is still cultivated in both States as a leading crop. 

More than half a century has elapsed since this discon- 
tinuance of tobacco planting in South Carolina. Meantime 
the spread of cotton culture on the rich lands of the South- 
west has influenced the cultivation in the older States by 
the competition in prices, but there has been a steady 
growth of tobacco planting in North Carolina, and thriving 
towns have sprung up in a few years where none existed 
before, from the profits of growing tobacco. The whole of 
middle and upper Carolina offer lands suitable for this 
plant, and the most valuable varieties reach a fine growth 
on our sea islands. Many planting experiments made on 



Commercial History. \ i 5 

the sea islands, both previous to and since the war, were 
eminently successful, but these experimental crops failed in 
the curing. Surely scientific research and experience might 
overcome this disability, and when it is recalled that only 
seven and a half per cent, of sea island acreage is grown 
with sea island cottons, and that there is no profitable 
market for more, it is worth considering if tobacco cannot 
be introduced successfully on these islands — the garden spot 
of South Carolina. 

Indigo shared a like fate ; cut off from the foreign markets, 
during the war of the Revolution its production was of 
course more or less neglected, and when the ports were 
opened there was no protection for it as heretofore in the 
markets of Great Britain. The stocks accumulated in the 
1776-83 period, and on hand at the close of the war, figure 
in the exports of the succeeding years, and then indigo 
gradually disappeared, and cotton occupied its place in 
South Carolina. 

LUCAS' RICE MILLS. 

The various contrivances for cleaning rice from the crude 
wooden mortar and lightwood pestle of the seventeenth 
century, as well as the later inventions of Guerard and others, 
all passed away, when Jonathan Lucas introduced here his 
improved rice mill run by water-power. 

To this citizen we are indebted for the admirable ma- 
chinery by which rice is cleaned and prepared for market — 
machinery which in its most improved state has been copied 
and introduced in the North and in Europe, serving ma- 
terially to increase the consumption of the grain by sup- 
plying it in the most desirable condition to home and 
foreign markets. 

He was a thoroughly educated millwright, was born in 
1754 at Cumberland, England. Shortly after the war of the 
Revolution he sailed from England for a more Southern 
port, but through stress of weather the vessel was driven on 
this coast and stranded near the mouth of Santee River. It 



1 1 6 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

was there that he noticed the laborious process then in use, 
for cleaning the rice from its hull, and preparing it for 
market. His was the thought and his the skill which ac- 
complished the wonderful economic improvements upon the 
old " laborious processes " by which the great forces of nature 
were soon to be harnessed to new machines, and the culti- 
vation and preparation of this cereal to receive an impetus 
which subsequently resulted in greatly increased rice crops. 
In the year 1787 the first water mill was erected by Mr. 
Lucas, to whom the credit of the invention is understood to 
be due. This was built for Mr. Bowman on a reserve at his 
Peach Island plantation on Santee River. Jonathan Lucas, 
Jr., inherited his father's mechanical talent and skill, and as- 
sociated wirh him constructed on Cooper River in 1801 the 
first toll mill for cleaning rice. The first brushing screen 
ever used was put into this mill in 1803. He yielded at 
length to the invitations of the British government, and 
passed the remainder of his days in England. The next 
water mill built by Mr. Lucas, Sr., on the Santee, was on the 
reserve at Washo Plantation for Mrs. Middleton, afterwards 
Mrs. Gen. Thos. Pinckney. About the same time or soon 
after a water mill was erected on a reserve of Winyaw Bay 
for Gen. Peter Horry. Also for Col. William Alston on 
the reserve at his Fairfield Plantation on the Waccamaw 
River. In the year 1791-92 Mr. Lucas built on Santee 
the first tide mill for Mr. Andrew Johnston, on his planta- 
tion called Millbrook. In a year or two after, the same in- 
defatigable and ingenious mechanic erected on Cooper 
River an improved tide mill, which was furnished with rol- 
ling screens, elevators, packers, etc., at the plantation of 
Hon. Henry Laurens, called Mepkin. Under the plan of 
these original mills those erected at a later day have been 
chiefly improvements in construction, not in plan. Sub- 
stantial improvements are said to have been introduced in 
rice milling by David Kidd, a machinist from Scotland, of 
very higli character for ingenuity and practical ability. A 
considerable advance having been established in the process 
of rice milling, by the Lucas mill and the application of 



Commercial History. 1 17 

water-power, these were erected on many plantations, and 
in 1795, Mr. Lucas erected on Shem Creek, at Hadrell's 
Point, in Charleston harbor, a combined rice and saw mill 
driven by water-power, and this was the first mill erected 
in the immediate vicinity of this city. 

In the earliest years of the present century Mr. Lucas 
built in the city a tide rice mill on Ashley River, North of 
the present site of West Point Mill, and the water-power 
was supplied by the extensive pond enclosed by banks, the 
North boundary of which is the present Spring Street. 
This property was purchased from the Daniel Cannon es- 
tate ; I have not been able to ascertain if the extensive em- 
bankment which encloses this pond was Mr. Lucas' plan and 
work or not, but his intelligence and enterprise were equal 
to so large a project. This mill attracted a considerable 
toll business, and initiated that movement which largely 
brought to this city the important and lucrative rice milling 
business, which for three-quarters of a century it has so suc- 
cessfully maintained. Next followed a steam rice mill in 
1 817 also by Mr. Lucas, at the foot of MillStreet, the ruins 
of which may still be seen. It was here that steam-power 
was first used in this country for rice milling purposes. 
After these mills came a steam rice mill owned by Lucas 
and Norton, built upon Cooper River, on what was known 
as Gadsden's Wharf. This mill was burnt and another was 
erected on its site. Another steam rice mill was built by 
Mr. A. W. Chisolm about 1830 on Ashley River, at the foot 
of Tradd Street, where formerly stood Dunkin's saw mill. 
This mill was also burnt in the early part of 1859, ^^'^^ the 
present Chisolm's rice mill rebuilt the same year and is still 
operated. 

About 1840, Jonathan Lucas, the grandson, built a steam 
lice mill upon the Ashley, where now stands West Point 
Mill. This mill was burnt and the present West Point Mill 
Company built on this site in 1860-1861, and is still operated. 

In 1844 Governor Thomas Bennett built a steam rice mill 
upon Cooper River, at the foot of Wentwoith Street — this 
mill is still operated. A mill was also built upon Gadsden's 



1 1 8 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Wharf, by Mr. Deveaux. The site of this mill was pur- 
chased by Robb & McLaren who, about 1846, erected 
thereon an improved steam rice mill, and conducted there a 
large and profitable business. 

In 1822 Jonathan Lucas, Jr., accepted offers in Great 
Britain and made his future home there. The subsequent 
erection by him and others of rice mills in Europe had the 
effect in time of drawing rough rice supplies not only from 
Eastern countries but from Charleston ; under the influence 
of import duties on clean rice, that of Great Britain being 
equal to $4.00 per tierce of clean rice, mills were kept run- 
ning in London, Liverpool, Copenhagen, Bremen, Amster- 
dam, Lisbon and Bordeaux, and Carolina rough rice was 
shipped hence in cargoes to those distant mills. This 
movement reached its maximum in 1850, when 581,832 
bushels, equal to 26,500 tierces of clean rice, were cleared at 
this port. Ten years after the rough rice export had fallen 
to 132,908 bushels, equal to 5,600 tierces of clean rice. 

In the last few years a new enterprise, the Charleston Rice 
Milling Company under the management of Mr. Russell, has 
been operating a new rice mill at the foot of Hasel Street 
with satisfactory results. 

The rice mills of Charleston have achieved a reputation 
in the preparation of this grain that accords them superiority 
in this complex branch of business, and to the first Lucas 
mill built on the Ashley may be traced this large and valua- 
ble city business. 

The largest crop of Carolina rice was in the 1850-1860 
decade, when 160,000 to 163,000 tierces, equal to 3,564,000 
bushels rough rice, were marketed, and the largest combined 
crop of Carolina and Georgia rice was, in 1849, stated at 
198,000 tierces, equal to 4,356,000 bushels of rough rice. 
The late war brought ruin to this great industry, and the 
rice crops since have averaged about 45,000 tierces, equal to 
1,000,000 bushels of rough rice. Thousands of acres of once 
valuable rice lands embracing some of the most remunera- 
tive plantations in the State have been waste land since. 









CD 

o 




Commercial Changes. 119 

COMMERCIAL CHANGES. 

It will be interesting^ to sketch very briefly the vicissitudes 
and changes of commerce during the past hundred years. 

From 1790 to 1807 Charleston enjoyed a large and grow- 
ing commercial prosperity. As a consequence of the neutral 
position held by the United States, a large share of the 
carrying trade of Western Europe was thrown into the 
850,000 tons of American vessels then afloat ; this port 
becanie the depot for large quantities of European mer- 
chandise destined for the West Indies, and the bulky pro- 
ducts, sugar, coffee, &c., moving East from those ports; a 
large amount of tonnage was required, and our city from 
its convenient location was the entrepot for this business 
both ways. As a matter of curiosity, the fac-simile of a bill 
of lading of this period is reproduced here, with its quaint 
phraseology as compared with those now in use ; it was 
copied from the original in the possession of Mr. David 
Jennings. 

Many of the large and substantial warehouses constructed 
on our water-front were built to accommodate this lucrative 
commerce. Just as her future was most promising, and the 
golden era of her commerce was flushed with success, came 
the Non-Intercourse Acts and the Embargo, followed by 
the war of 1812-15. Looking back to that period, we 
may well exclaim with Randolph, of Roanoke : " The Em- 
bargo is the Illiad of all our woes." Into the stream of 
those mighty European events, which were world-wide in 
their scope, and the ruinous political policy of that period, 
the commercial fortunes of Charleston were strongly drawn. 
Ruin came to many of our merchants, and the sudden 
change brought poverty to thousands in city and State. 
The only nation really benefitted by the embargo was 
France, and when peace came in 18 15 our merchants found 
all changed ; old things had passed away, and a new future, 
which received its direction from the then extending culture 
of cotton, was to be created. While Charleston was help- 
lessly suffering from the commercial inaction of the embargo 



I20 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

and the war, New England was developing its manufactures, 
and a large portion of its commercial capital turned aside 
by President Jefferson's embargo policy did not, when peace 
came, revert to its old pursuits. There is much significance 
in the simple statement, that ship-owning free trade New 
England of 1807 emerged from the war of 181 2-1 5 vigor- 
ously protectionist ; their progress had been changed, not 
arrested, and their industries in alliance with those of Penn- 
sylvania have ever since been cared for at the expense of 
the larger interests of the people of the whole Union. 

One hundred years ago, James Watt was perfecting his 
steam engine and initiating its use for navigation purposes. 
He had invented the condenser, enclosed the cylinder, and 
adopted the use of oil and tallow in inoving a piston by 
steam against a vacuum. He held a patent for his expan- 
sion engine, for six modes for regulating motion, for a double 
action engine, double cylinders, steam wheels, &c. In 1784 
he obtained patents for parallel motion, locomotive engine, 
hand gear and valve. These, and subsequent improvements 
by Robert Fulton in the application of steam for the pur- 
poses of ocean navigation, have brought with it an era of 
rapid improvement in naval architecture and all other 
matters relating to nautical affairs which were never dreamed 
of even fifty years ago, fulfilling the prophecy of Napoleon, 
who in 1804 said of Fulton's plans: "A great truth, a physi- 
cal palpable truth is before my eyes, which may change the 
face of the world." 

Before steam lent its giant powers to navigation, locomo- 
tion over the deep was attended with a degree of danger 
and uncertainty, which seemed so necessary and inevitable, 
that as a common proverb it became the type and repre- 
sentative of everything which was precarious and perilous. 
To the introduction of steam navigation we may trace many 
of the great changes which are now felt in the commerce of 
our city. Through this agency the enterprise and capital of 
the larger commercial cities have been successful in divert- 
ing the natural flow of commerce from its accustomed chan- 
nels to their own ports. As an illustration, the steamship 



Commercial CJianges. 12 1 

Robert Fulton, 700 tons, was built in 18 19 for the New York- 
Havana business, but so strong at that time was New Orleans 
and Charleston in the West India trade that the voyages 
were made from New York to Charleston, thence to Havana 
and New Orleans, requiring nine days for running time. 
Subsequently direct lines from New York to Havana were 
gradually absorbing this business, and to meet this altered 
situation Charleston merchants organized a steamship enter- 
prise, under the management of Messrs. Mordecai & Co., 
direct from this port to Havana, and many will remember 
the Isabel d,nd her successful career up to the late war between 
the States. Since then, this entire business has been trans- 
ferred to Northern ports, through the opportunity presented 
by the war, and the instrumentality of splendid steam lines, 
originating in and leading to New York. 

Up to i860, Charleston had a large capital invested in 
ships for the European and East India trade. Since then 
a great revolution in ship-building and marine engines has 
been wrought. By the operation of our laws regulating 
shipping. Great Britain, as against us, has a practical mo- 
nopoly of iron ship-building, and supplies the world with 
tonnage. No one can examine the ocean steamship arri- 
vals at New York without seeing a marked absence of the 
American flag. The results arrived at in iron steamships 
are large capacity, economic consumption of fuel, and 
speed. Iron and steel now enter almost entirely into the 
construction of hulls, and on the same over-all measure- 
ment the gain in freight room is 20 per cent, over wood, 
and the gain in the strength and durability of iron and 
steel ships is more than an equivalent for the increased first 
cost over wooden ships. An illustration of the revolution 
in machinery may be made by stating that the Inman 
steamship City of Brussels was placed on the line in 1869, 
as a model of nautical excellence. Seven years after her 
launch, while her hull and sailing appointments were in 
undiminished efficiency, her machinery was removed, and 
she was furnished with new engines. This costly renova- 
tion was made, with the result, that by the new compound 
16 



122 The Centennial cf Incorporation. 

engine, greater power was obtained with a consumption of 
65 tons of coal per day, than with 1 10 tons with the old 
engine, while the gain in cargo capacity previously occupied 
by coal, was equal to 800 tons ; there was also an increase 
in speed. This marks the great revolution in ocean trans- 
portation, and accounts for some features of the carrying 
trade, which we shall now notice. 

We have had steamships loading at this port the past 
year at old sailing packet rates of freight, and even so 
coarse and bulky an article as phosphate rock is constantly 
loading here for European ports, in steamships that arrive 
in ballast for these voyages. The important elements of 
time and certainty enter into this calculation, and the 
modern marine engine, in economizing time and ensuring 
certainty, is making a great inroad into the customary busi- 
ness of sailing vessels. 

As the trade of the West India Islands has, under steam- 
ship 'influences, been diverted from Southern to Northern 
ports, notably New York, so the enormous stream of pas- 
senger and freight tonnage concentrated at New York from 
European ports, has already exerted an influence, and will 
continue to affect the movements of cotton and other pro- 
duce at Southern ports. 

Within the past year, agents of Eastward bound ocean 
steamships at New York have invited shipments of phos- 
phate rock by steam from Charleston, at profitable freight 
figures for the coastwise steamships, to ballast their own 
steamships Eastward bound at the mere cost of handling 
thi*^ freight, while cotton has moved from New York to 
Liverpool at a price so nominal as hardly to pay for the 
handling. These are important facts ; England substituting 
steam for sail on an extensive scale, and Germany, Norway, 
Sweden and Denmark sending us annually a large amount 
of sail tonnage. It seems to be a contest between the North 
of Europe, with economic ships, low wages and cheap sup- 
plies, and English machinery and iron and steel hulls; the 
United States is not now a contestant on the ocean. 

It is to such causes that we must look for explanation of 



Commercial Chnngcs. 123 

the absence from our port of the old Charleston ships in 
the foreign trade. Added to the permanent facilities above 
referred to is the fleet of iron screw-ships "seeking," with 
cheap motive power and large capacity, which can live on 
phosphate rock freight at 20 to 25 shillings per ton, and 
make money on cotton and naval stores freights at the old 
sailing packet rates. 

While Charleston is wanting now in the large ship inter- 
ests once centered here, there has been a marked develop- 
ment of other industries and business in our city. It is 
estimated that five million dollars of phosphate mining and 
.nanufacturing interests are owned here. Wholesale and 
retail dealers now number nearly a thousand persons, whose 
resources are stated at $20,000,000. Numerous mechanical 
and manufacturing establishments have products of eight 
or nine million dollars a year. While the aggregate value 
of produce received, and local manufactures with the 
wholesale and retail trade is stated at $75,000,000 annually. 
There is a marked change also in the State, once almost 
exclusively agricultural, there are now over 180,000 spin- 
dles, and likely to consume in the near future 90,000 to 
100,000 bales of cotton annually, disbursing nearly a million 
dollars in wages, &c., and producing every year 8,000,000 
pounds of yarn, and 44,000,000 yards of goods. Charles- 
ton has her share in this great change by her splendid cotton 
mill in Hampstead, recently completed, and turning out 
the most desirable styles of goods. 

The changes in 
land transporta- 
tion are as mark- 
ed as that by sea. 
While Stephen- 
son was perfect- 
ing his locomo- 
^^ tive and applying 
^^-'^.^—-'^'^^'^-''i^^ it to railway pur- 

Carolina Wagon of the Olden Time. pOSCS, the WagOn 

was the best means of land transit to Charleston for cotton 




124 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

and other produce. King Street, South of Line Street, was 
a succession of wagon-yards and stores, and the old " Bull's 
Head Tavern," where farmers and wagoners were entertain- 
ed, was still quite an institution as late as forty years ago, 
and even later. The wagon yards soon became too small 
for the railroad receipts, and this annually increasing busi- 
ness was transferred to the wharves, and many of the exten- 
sive warehouses now seen there were erected to accommo- 
date the growing cotton trade. 



PROGRESS OF RAILROADS. 

The history of railroads may properly be said to have 
commenced with the second quarter of the nineteenth cen- 
tury.* 

Passing over the earliest efforts of George Stephenson on 
the Stockton and Darlington Railroad of England, the first 
stage of locomotive construction is represented by 

" The Rocket^' four and a half tons loaded, built by George 
Stephenson, which took the prize of ;^500 offered by the Liv- 
erpool and Manchester Railroad, October, 1829. The speci- 
fication by the company was : " If locomotives of six tons — 
must be able to draw twenty tons, at ten miles per hour." 
The actual performance was seventeen tons on a level, at 
twelve and a half miles per hour. 

'■'Stourbridge Lion" seven tons, from Stourbridge, England, 
for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company of the United 
States. Capacity sixty to eighty tons, at five miles per 
hour. This engine proved too heavy for the road (being 
two tons on each wheel), and was put on side track and 
never used; it arrived in May, 1829, and was the first loco- 
motive to turn a wheel in the United States, on 8th Au- 
gust, 1829. 

" The Best Friend^' four and a half tons, was the first loco- 



*For this interesting information about railroad progress I am indebted to 
Colonel C. S. Gadsden, of the Charleston and Savannah Railway Company. 



Progress of Railroads. 1 25 

motive built in the United States, under a contract between 
the South Carolina Railroad Company and Mr. E. L. Miller, 
of Charleston, S. C. Arrived in Charleston 23d October, 
1830. 

The resolution of the South Carolina Railroad Board of 
Directors, which declared that " in future not over twenty- 
five passengers to any car; speed shall not exceed one car 
and passengers at fifteen miles per hour, two cars and pas- 
sengers at twelve miles per hour, three cars and passengers 
at ten miles per hour," indicates the first idea of passenger 
transportation by railroads. 

The specification in this case was that " The Best Friend " 
should perform at the rate of ten miles per hour, and carry 
three times her weight. 

SECOND PERIOD LOCOMOTIVES— 1860. 

Locomotives of this period weighed from twenty to twen- 
ty-five tons. Capacity : In freight service sixteen to eighteen 
box cars, weighing eight tons empty and sixteen tons load- 
ed ; aggregate weight of train two hundred and fifty-six to 
two hundred and eighty-eight tons exclusive of locomotive. 
Speed of passenger trains twenty-two to twenty-three miles 
per hour for express and mail trains. 

THIRD PERIOD LOCOMOTIVES— 1883. 

Locomotives of this period for same class of roads thirty- 
five to forty tons for both passenger and freight traffic. 

The " Mogul " and " Consolidated '" are types of the loco- 
motives employed. Capacity in freight service, thirty-five 
to forty-five twenty ton cars ; aggregate load, one thousand 
and fifty to thirteen hundred and fifty tons, exclusive of 
locomotive. Speed of passenger train thirty-five to fifty 
miles per hour. 

There was on exhibition at the " Exposition of Railway 
Appliances" in Chicago, in May. 1883, a locomotive of the 
Southern Pacific Railroad, of the following dimensions : En- 



126 lite Centennial of Incorporation. 

gine and tender 186,000 pounds — ninety-three tons. Ca- 
pacity twenty-two twenty ton cars (six hundred and sixty 
tons weight of train), up one hundred and five feet grade 
and around an eight degree curve. 

FREIGHT CARS. 

The first freight cars were mounted on four wheels at- 
tached rigidly to frame of car, which latter carried from 
two to four tons. 

The freight cars of i860 weighed eight tons empty, and 
sixteen tons loaded, and were mounted on two trucks of 
four wheels each, attached to car body by the king-bolt, 
which enabled trucks to accommodate themselves to the 
curves of the track. 

The freight cars of the third period weigh ten tons 
empty and thirty tons loaded, with great improvements in 
both body and trucks, to afford better accommodations 
to the varied classes of freight, and to move with greater 
celerity with safety. 

PASSENGER COACHES. 

The first coaches were made to resemble two or three 
mail coaches of the Turnpike coupled together, mounted 
on four wheels, attached rigidly to frame of car, without 
any springs, and having no pretension to comfort in the 
interior arrangements, being crude and primitive, and seat- 
ing from twenty to twenty-five passengers. 

The coaches of the second period, were from forty to 
forty-five feet long, flat-roofed, with entrance at each end 
and long aisle down centre of car, seats upholstered with 
Brussels carpet on spiral springs, or hair, for cushions. There 
was little or no demand for the cabinet-maker's, or other 
decorative art. 

These bodies were of plain exterior, small windows, with 
stoves in centre of car; were mounted on two four-wheel 
trucks to the coach, furnished with swinging bolsters, and 



Progress of Railroads. 127 

elliptical springs. The platforms, bumpers, methods of 
coupling, hand-brakes and bell-lines showed a decided ad- 
vance over primitive ideas. These coaches seated thirty- 
five to forty passengers, and cost from $2,500 to $3,000. 

The coaches of the present day, or third period, present 
the appearance inside of handsome drawing-rooms ; the 
elevated roofs giving better ventilation ; the heaters afford- 
ing warmth in winter by forcing hot water through a system 
of pipes ; the elaborate ornamentation and luxuriousness 
of upholstery, with the comfortable drinking and toilet 
arrangements, show a wonderful advance in the attempt to 
minister to the comforts of travel. These coaches, highly 
decorated and painted with great skill, are mounted on 
six-wheel trucks, which, in themselves, are marvels of 
strength and elastic motion. The Janney platform and 
coupler enable the conductor to so attach the cars in the 
train as to incur the minimum of lateral motion, with the 
highest degree of security in case of collision. These cars 
seat fifty to sixty passengers, and cost $5,000 to $5,500. 
The Pullman sleeping car, besides the many comforts 
offered to the traveler by day, is converted into a sleeping 
palace by night ; these cars carry forty persons at the most, 
and cost $15,000 to $20,000. 

TRACKS. 

The earliest railroads were built with a strap iron rail 
spiked to a longitudinal stringer, which in turn was notched 
down on cross-sleepers three feet apart. These rails were 
punched for the spikes, with no contrivance to confine the 
joints, and accidents frequently occurred by these straps 
forming " snake-heads," and forcing themselves through 
the bottom of the cars. 

By i860 these strap rails had been succeeded by the 
"chub," and " U," and then the "T" rail was in general 
favor; all these of iron. 

The "chair" was invented to confine the two ends of 
connecting rails and was spiked securely to the cross-tie. 



128 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

The stringers had generally been discarded in favor of the 
cross-ties, placed transversely under the rails and upon the 
bed of earth as graded by the engineer. Spikes ^ by 
53^ inches were adopted as the best fastening, being driven 
into the cross-ties on each side of the base of the T rail. 
Little or no attention was as yet paid to introducing "bal- 
last " of any kind; the natural earth being used very gene- 
rally for surfacing. 

The track of 1883 is formed of steel rail, from fifty to 
seventy pounds weight to the yard, a modification of the 
old T rail pattern, spiked to cross-ties two feet apart from 
centre to centre, with four spikes to the tie, and secured at 
the joints by " fish," or angle plates, bolted through the end 
of the rails, forming thus, practically, a continuous rail. 

This superstructure rests on ballast of stone, gravel or 
sand of one foot to eighteen inches thick, overlying the 
natural soil. 

Great attention is paid to "drainage," and high speed, 
with great degree of safety and comfort, has been attained. 

The appliances for transferring trains from one track to 
another are of various " safety " types, known as the " Whar- 
ton," " Tracey " and " English," &c., switches. 

Finding the single track inadequate to their traffic, the 
Trunk lines have added another, or double track, for move- 
ment in each direction, and the wealthier and stronger 
roads have as many as four tracks of the heaviest steel rail, 
separating passenger and freight trains as well as moving 
trains in opposite directions on different tracks. 

STEEL RAILS. 

The discovery of the "Bessemer Process" of converting 
iron into steel in bulk, has been a potent agent in stimula- 
ting railroad progress. 

The enormous tonnage of the Trunk lines had in 1870 
reached a point where iron was practically valueless for 
track; renewals were necessary on mountain sections every 
few months, so severe was the usage to which the rails were 
subjected. 



Progress of Railroads. 129 

This great discovery enabled Trunk lines to substitute 
steel for iron rails with a durability over the inferior article 
out of all proportion to the increased cost. 

In 1866 the connparative values were $153.75 P^'' ton for 
iron and $174.75 for steel; these prices have, with slight 
fluctuations, constantly declined, and at present steel rails 
can be bought at $34 per ton, free on board, at American 
works, while iron is no longer quoted. 

The reduction of the duty on steel, together witli the 
marked improvement in methods of production, have con- 
tributed to this great decline in price. 

BRIDGES. 

The advance in the science of bridge construction is in- 
deed marvelous. The very heavy and expensive stone 
structures of the early period on the continent were never 
introduced into this country. There was not capital enough 
to warrant this great expenditure, nor was population dense 
enough to promise return on so large a first cost. 

The cheaper wooden structures of the first period under 
consideration were succeeded by the Howe and other styles 
which were everywhere in use about i860; the spans were 
rarely ever one hundred and fifty feet. 

Gradually these wooden bridges have been replaced by 
structures, in part or in whole, of iron ; steel has not been 
generally adopted in bridge construction. The bridges of 
the present day are triumphs of engineering skill. 

From the light, airy and graceful iron bridges of one hun- 
dred and fifty feet span, which are marvels in themselves of 
the judicious and scientific disposition of material to meet 
the demands of the load, attention is directed to the won- 
derful triumphs of science in the " Brooklyn Suspension " 
and the "Niagara Cantilever" bridges of fifteen hundred 
feet spans. The possibilities in this direction seem limited 
only by the means at the command of the man of science. 

THE RUNNING OF TRAINS. 

Alongside of the physical triumphs in railroad construc- 

17 



130 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

tion, we find marked advance in the methods of manage- 
ment, and the appliances for promoting the speedy and 
safe transit of traffic. In the earliest days of railroad ser- 
vice, trains were run without time-tables, the rule being to 
keep a sharp lookout for the opposing train of which no 
advices could be had. The effort on the part of both engi- 
neers was to pass the " half-way" stake, which was located 
between each pair of stations, knowing that the unsuccess- 
ful party must back his train to the last turn-out passed. 

The second period of railroad life showed advances in 
train service. There was a time-table, with regular passing 
points, and a code of rules for the guidance of train men, 
but though the telegraph wire was an agent in the service, 
it was used rather to convey intelligence than, as now, to 
deliver orders. The bell-cord was the means of communi- 
cation between conductor and engineer, and recognized 
signals by this agency, and at night by lamps, &c., parts of 
the system of train service. 

At present the time-table is still in force for trains on 
regular schedule on time, and a code of rules for gui- 
dance under all possible combinations of circumstances; 
while at the same time the dispatcher in the telegraph 
office keeps record day and night of the position of trains, 
checking the speed of one, and again hastening the pas- 
sage of another over the line to appointed meeting points, 
thus economizing the valuable time of both passenger and 
freight traffic. 

The automatic air-brake is at the service of engineer, 
conductor and passenger alike, to stop immediately the 
train, should danger be seen at any point. Added to these 
methods, the important Trunk lines of the country have 
introduced the " block system," which divides into blocks 
or sections of two or more miles the entire .length of road, 
securing the absolute safety from collision of a train in any 
block by preventing any other train from entering such 
block till the first shall have passed out. 

There are also elaborate systems of signals, interlock- 
ing signal and switch, automatic electric block system, and 



Progress of Railroads. 1 3 1 

various uses of electricity in combination with safety appli- 
ances as yet not thoroughly tested or adopted. 

STANDARD TIME. 

The rapid growth of railroads in the United States, and 
their spread over an area of fifty-five degrees of longitude 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, showed the neces- 
sity of some general standard of time. 

As the control of these extended railroad lines was held 
in many different centres of population, situated at various 
intervals throughout this territory, each of which took its 
time from the sun, it was found in the year 1883 that there 
were actually upwards of fifty different standards of road- 
way time, causing endless embarrassment in their relations 
to the public and each other wherever these radiating rail- 
roads crossed or connected. 

After many suggestions from various sources, the scheme 
originated and perfected by Mr. W. F. Allen, of New York, 
was ultimately adopted by a majority of the roads in 
Canada and the United States. 

Mr. Allen's plan was substantially this : Taking the obser- 
vatory of Greenw^ich as a base, he divided the territory of 
Canada and the United States into five grand divisions of 
time. 

Central Meridian. 

The Inter-colonial 60° We.st from Greenwicli. 

The Eastern . . . 75° West from Greenwich. 

The Central . 90° West from Greenwich. 

The Mountain 105° West from Greenwich. 

The Pacific. ..... 120° West from Greenwich. 

The central meridians of tliese several divisions or zones 
are taken at fifteen degrees, or just one hour's interval apart 
across the whole North American continent, and correspond 
very nearly with the sun time respectively ; while at no point 
in the belt of territory controlled by any one standard should 
the standard time differ more than thirty minutes from the 
sun time at such point. 

A glance at the map issued in connection with this plan 
of Mr. Allen will show that this latter is accomplished by 



132 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

having the standard time meridians central in the zones, 
controlled by each, i. e. the belt extends seven and a half 
degrees on each side of its peculiar meridian. The time of 
the meridian of the Inter-colonial zone is just four hours 
later than Greenwich, and the time of the Pacific meridian 
is four hours behind the Tnter-colonial. Noon at Green- 
wich would be 8 A. M. at the Inter-colonial and 4 A. M. at 
the Pacific meridian. 

The general adoption of this scheme of standard time by 
the government of the United States, the principal cities of 
this country, and by very nearly all the railroad, telegraph 
and express companies, has afforded great relief to the pub- 
lic in its intercourse with these several institutions, and been 
an appreciable step in the march of civilization. 

THE MODERN RAILWAY AND MARINE ENGINE. 

While the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad was being 
constructed in 1829, under Stephenson's direction, and Bal- 
timore was reaching out to the Ohio River, Charleston 
was projecting a railroad to the head of navigation on 
the Savannah River, which, when completed, was then the 
longest railroad in the world. 

This was followed by other earnest efforts, headed by the 
late Robert Y. Hayne, to cross the mountains and establish 
railroad communication "with the vast interior of the con- 
tinent;" but failure attended these efforts. The dominant 
thought of that time and since, has been to have Charleston 
a nice quiet place to live in, and not to allow it to expand 
into an influential and wealthy metropolis, and so, in sur- 
veying the past, we can only deplore a short-sightedness 
which leaves us to contemplate Baltimore, with her great 
trunk railroads to the West, in all her commercial and in- 
dustrial grandeur of power and influence, and Charleston 
left far behind in the great career which was as open to us 
as to our now opulent and influential sister city. Every 
acre of land in South Carolina might to-day have been 
quadrupled in value, and a higher civilization been reached 
by all our people, if we had lived up to our great privilege 



Progress of Railroads. 133 

and opportunity in railroad transportation during the past 
half century. Robert Y. Hayne uttered a great truth fifty 
years ago, when he said : ''Next to the Christian Religion, I 
knozv of nothing to be compared with the influence of a free, 
social and commercial intercourse in softening asperities, re- 
moving prejudices, extending knozvledge and promoting human 
happiness ;'' and his words are as true to-day as then, and 
should have intelligent response even now, late as it is. 

The true future of our city rests on the modern railway 
and its equipment, and on the modern marine engine. We 
may hug delusive phantoms of hope, but only to these giant 
levers we must OURSELVES ultimately resort to achieve suc- 
cess. That "vast interior of the continent," is a great and 
growing hive of industry and wealth; our port would be a 
necessity to that great West if we controlled direct railroad 
communication with it; but we have it not. Others 
have crossed the mountains and are already there, and we 
too must assert ourselves and enter that field if we are to 
change our fortunes. We can build railways now, cheaper 
than ever before ; at $34 per ton for steel rails we can reach 
the great West on the mijiimum of outlays, and very mode- 
rate traffic rates will support handsomely this relatively small 
capital ; those already there, have gone there, earlier it is 
true, but relatively at enormous cost. At the present ratio 
of growth, the West will need the port of Charleston in the 
near future ; th^re should soon be a common interest and a 
common purpose, in having the shortest railway connection 
over the minimum of grades, between the Ohio River and 
Charleston ; when we can travel the length of our State, 
from Charleston to the Northern border, in six hours or 
less by an air-line, and crossing the mountains, bring the 
West as near to us as this multiple of time for the balance 
of the distance will ensure, there will be new faces in our 
marts and on our water front, and a great career will open 
for us of Charleston. And in close association with rapid 
rail transit to the West, let us not omit to look over the 
seas to the South, and harness the marine engine to our 
service. The late M. F. Maury said : " Behold the valley of 



134 T^^^^ Centennial of Incorporation. 

the Amazon and the great river basins of South America ; 
there is a wilderness of treasures; all the elements of the 
most valuable commerce are there, and of easy develop- 
ment. ^ * * Soils of the richest loam are there ; the 
climates of India, of the Moluccas and the Spice Islands are 
all there, and there too are the boundless agricultural and 
mineral capacities of the East and of the West, all clustered 
together. The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are 
twin basins; the great equatorial current, having its ^^«^5z\y 
in the Indian Ocean, and doubling the Cape of Good Hope, 
sweeps by the mouth of the Amazon, and after traversing 
both the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, it meets 
with the Gulf Stream, and places the commercial outlet of 
that river almost as much in the Florida Pass as is the 
mouth of the Mississippi itself. These twin basins are des- 
tined by nature to be the greatest commercial receptacles 
in the world. No age, nor clime, nor quarter of the globe 
afford any parallel or any conditions of the least resemblance 
to these which we find in this sea and gulf. What other 
arm of the ocean is between two continents with opposite 
seasons?" 

Consult the map, and see how advantageous is Charles- 
ton's location for the world of commerce that can be directed 
through her portals, with the surplus products of the North- 
west Southward bound, and the products of the Southern 
countries we have referred to in return cargoes. If our 
commerce once spread its wings over such an interchange, 
it would be like the touch of the magician's wand here. 

THE POST OFFICE. 

In close connection with commerce is the transportation 
of the mails and the administration of the Post Office Depart- 
ment, in which the most remarkable changes have occurred 
in the past hundred years. 

From a complex system of rates and distances initiated 
by the Continental Congress, we have reached the simplicity 
of almost penny postages and unlimited distances in 1883 ; 
the first legislation for the Post Office Department is con- 



Progress of Railroads. 135 

tained in an Ordinance of Continental Congress of date 
October i8th. 1782. 

Cents, 
Charges in pennyweights and grains of silver, each pennyweight s-goths 

of a dollar 5.5 

For any distance not exceeding 60 miles, i p'wt S gr's 7.4 

For over 60 miles and under 100 miles, 2 p'wt ir.ii 

For over 100 miles, and under 200 miles, 2 p'wt i6 g'rs 14.8 

And 16 gr's advance on every 100 miles. 

Single letters to Europe, 4 p'wt 20 2 

Doubled for double letters 44.4 

Trebled for treble letters 66 . 6 

One ounce, 4 rates, and sc> in same proportion for increased weights. 



By the Act of 1792 the following postage rates by land 
were established. It will be noticed that the distance was 
a factor in the rate of postage : 

Cents. 

For every single letter not exceeding 30 miles 6 

For every single letter over 30 miles, and not exceeding 60 miles 8 

For every single letter over 60 miles, and not exceeding 100 miles 10 

For every single letter over 100 miles, and not exceeding 150 miles I2|4 

For every single letter over 150 miles, and not exceeding 200 miles 15 

For every single letter over 200 miles, and not exceeding 250 miles 17 

For every single letter over 250 miles, and not exceeding 350 miles 20 

For every single letter over 350 miles, and not exceeding 450 miles 22 

For every single letter over 450 miles 25 

For every double letter, double the said rates. 

For every triple letter, triple the said rates. 

For every package weighing one ounce avoirdupois, to pay at the rate of four 
single letters for each ounce, and in that proportion for any greater weight. 



There have been frequent successive reductions of rates 
and extensions of distances, until at this date an ordinary 
letter can be sent across the continent for two cents. As 
likely to prove interesting I give the revenue of the Charles- 
ton Post Office at intervals for eighty years past. It will 
be noticed that the high rates and the multiples for dis- 
tances in 1803 brought $13,010.79 for gro.ss revenue, while 
on the basis of three cents for all distances the figures of 
1882 are $76,227.32. 



136 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Statement of the Receipts of the Post Office of Charleston, S. C, 
for the calendar years noted. 

Year. Net Revenue. Gross Receipts. 

1783 Incomplete 

1793 

1803 1 9.582.03 $13,010.79 

1S13 13,845.72 17,252.21 

1823 22,305.61 26,829.71 

1833 30,250.24 35.390-35 

1843 45.395-10 53.393-94 

1853 29,712.97 40,261.28 

1873 •• 43.157-03 56,083.93 

1882 62,449.51 76,227.32 



THE HEALTH OF CHARLESTON. 

The report.s, more or le.ss currently published, indicating 
the ratio of mortality in Charleston as being extremely 
high, and such statements being prejudicial to the good 
name of the city, has induced the preparation of the ac- 
companying table, which covers a period of fifty years, and 
embraces Northern cities in comparison with our own white 
population. 

COMPARATIVE MORTALITY. 
Ratio per 1,000 Whites in the City of Charleston, S. C. 

Cities. 1830. 1840. ' 1850. I 1860. ! 1870. | 1880. ' ^^^^' '^^'i" ^^^ 



Philadelphia j 20.90' 17.78 19-63 19.18' 22.72' 20.91121.12 20.18 

Charleston ! 25.65! 18.94 18.68 17.70 23.69 22.01 126.67 21.11 

Boston 20.00j 22.19 24.59, 2468: 24.30 23.53139.29 23.21 

Baltimore 22.82 20.04, 24.91I 22.91! 27.09 27.16144.94 24.15 

New York 1 25.66I 25.16! 30.701 28.19! 28.84I 26.47,165.02! 27.50 

It is a source of great regret that since 1865 the colored 
race in the South has shown so high a rate of mortality in 
Southern cities. Prior to that date they were carefully 
reared and were the recipients during life of watchful medi- 
cal attention ; and, furthermore, had wholsome food and 



The Health of Char/csion. 137 

comfortable homes. Under these conditions the ratio 
among the colored people was in 1830, 24.85, iw 1840, 27.60, 
in 1850, 20.98, or an average of about 24.47. I'"" 1870 it had 
risen to 41.01, and in 1880 to 41.08. Comparing Charles- 
ton's mortuary statistics of colored population with other 
Southern cities we have this exhibit for 1880: 

Nashville, Tennessee 35-23 

Norfolk, Virginia 37 -06 

Charleston, South Carolina 41 .08 

New Orleans, Louisiana 44-49 

Savannah, Georgia 45-47 

In this connection it is proper to mention that Charleston 
has ever since 1865 maintained an extensive hospital and 
dispensary service for the sick poor. The extent of this ser- 
vice is best understood by this statement, that in the period 
of 1871-80, covering ten years, there were i 14,592 cases of 
(iisease treated at the public expense in hospitals and by 
the dispensary physicians. Of this large aggregate, averag- 
ing 11,459 cases per annum, the proportions are, whites 
27,826, or 2,782 per annum ; colored 86,766, or 8,676 per 
annum. With a view of reaching more effectively the sick 
poor a larger outlay of money has been made in this 
department for 1883, than in previous years, including 
a larger distribution of medicines. The public attention 
is directed to this important matter, and whatever can 
be done will be done in the future, as in the past, to 
mitigate the condition shown by the above statistics. 
The great difficulty, however, in the case is the careless- 
ness and improvidence of living, among many of the 
colored people. Under the new dispensary system or- 
ganized in January last, which went into operation February 
1st, the statistics of the Registrar's office show that for four 
months 5,659 patients were treated, of which 864 were white 
and 4,795 colored, and 18,961 visits attended to. Upon this 
ratio for the balance of the year the aggregate of medical 
attention to the sick poor will be very much larger than 
ever before, pointing to more activity in the Health Depart- 
18 



138 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

ment, and we shall hope therefore for a lower mortuary rate 
per 1,000 as the result of these labors among this class of 
population. 



FEDERAL OFFICIALS IN CHARLESTON. 

Interwoven with the commerce of this port are the several 
departments of the Federal government. It is under the 
authority of the Union that Charleston is a port, and that 
it has authorized relations with the commerce of the world. 
The Federal Courts, Custom House, Post Office and Treas- 
ury are necessary to the city's life, and so, it must be inter- 
esting to know who has represented the Federal govern- 
ment in these various positions during the past hundred 
years. I have, therefore, taken some pains to secure a cor- 
rect roll of Judges, Attorneys, Collectors of the Port, Post- 
masters and Treasurers, by whom appointed, and the dates 
of their public service, which is presented herewith : 

Judges of the United States District Court for the District 
of South Carolina. 

1789 — 26th September Thomas Pinckney President Washington. 

1789 — iSth November William Drayton President Washington. 

1790 — 14th June Thomas Bee President Washington. 

1801 — 3d March Jacob Read President Adams. 

1812 — 17th March Thomas Parker .President Madison. 

1812 — 7th May John Drayton President Madison. 

1823 — 17th February Thomas Lee President Monroe. 

1839 — 30th October R. B. Gilchrist President Vati Buren. 

1856 — I2th May A. Gordon Magrath President Pierce. 

1866 — I2th March George S. Bryan President Johnson. 

Attorneys of the United States for the District of South 

Carolina. 

1789 — 26th September John J. Pringle President Washington. 

1792 — 2 1st November Thomas Parker President Washington. 

1821 — 7th February John Gadsden. . . President Monroe. 



Federal Officials in Charleston. 139 

1825 — loth January John Gadsden President Monroe. 

1829 — 2d March John Gadsden President J. Q. Adams. 

1831 — 28th February Edward Frost President Jackson. 

1831 — 25th July Robert B. Gilchrist President Jackson. 

1835 — 28th December Robert B. Gilchrist President Jackson. 

1839 — 6th November Edward McCrady President Van Buren. 

1844 — 7th May. Edward McCrady President Tyler. 

1848 — i6th May Edward McCrady President Polk. 

1850 — 26th October William Whaley President Filmore. 

1850 — 13th November J- L. Petigru President Filmore. 

1853 — 17th March Thomas Evans President Pierce. 

1857 — 2ist April James Conner President Buchanan. 

1866 — 23d May John Phillips President Johnson. 

1867 — 28th March D. T. Corbin President Johnson. 

1871 — 24th March D. T. Corbin President Grant. 

1875 — 25th March D. T. Corbin President Grant. 

1877 — 26th September Lucius C. Northrop President Hayes. 

1881 — loth May Samuel W. Melton President Garfield. 

Collectors of Customs for the District of Charleston, S. C. 

1791 — 2ist March George Abbott Hall President Washington. 

1791 — 7th November Isaac Holmes President Washington. 

1797 — 4th July James Simons President Adams. 

1806 — 2ist January Simeon Theus President Jefferson. 

1819 — 22d February William Johnson President Monroe. 

1819 — 23d August James R. Pringle President Monroe. 

1840 — 2ist July Henry L. Pinckney President Van Buren. 

1841 — 9th August William J. Grayson President Tyler. 

1853 — 19th March William F. Colcock. .... .President Pierce. 

1865 — 2d June Albert G. Mackey President Johnson. 

1869 — 26th June George W. Clark President Grant. 

1873 — 30th June Henry G. Worthington . . .President Grant. 

1877 — 15th December Cyrus H. Baldwin President Hayes. 

1882 — 15th February Thomas B. Johnston President Arthur. 

Postmasters appointed at CJinrleston, S. C, since lySj. 

1783 Thomas Hall' President . 

1794 — 1st January Thomas W. Bacot President Washington. 

1834 — 19th December Alfred Huger President Jackson. 

1867 — 5th April Stanley G. Trott President Johnson. 

1873 — i8th March Benjamin A. Boseman President Grant. 

1881— 6th May William N. Taft President Garfield. 



* The records of the department show that Thomas Hall was in possession of the office as 
Postmaster July ist, 1783, but do not give the date of his appointment. It is also shown that 
he was reappointed February i6th, 1790. Prior to the year 1836, all Postmasters were ap- 
pointed by the Postmaster-General. 



140 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Assistant Treasurers at CJiarleston, 5. C. 

The office of Assistant Treasurer of the United States at 
Charleston, S. C, was created by the Act of Congress, ap- 
proved August 6th, 1846: * 

1846— 2Sth August William Laval President Polk. 

1849 — 2ist June ...William M.Martin President Taylor. 

1853 — iStli April Benjamin C. Pressley President Pierce. 

1S66 — 25th July Alexander McDowell President Johnson. 

1866 — 20th October Joshua D. Giddings President Johnson. 

1874— 13th April Cyrus H.Baldwin President Grant. 

Mr. Baldwin was the incumbent up to the time when the 
office was abolished by the Act of Congress, approved 
August 15th, 1876. 



TOPOGRAPHY OF CHARLES TOWN. 

With the transcripts of the Shaftesbury papers, are several 
plats giving authentic information of localities at and near 
"Old Town" and "New Town"; this has been carefully 
transfered to the new map of the city published herewith, 
and the reader will find much interesting information, not 
before accessible to the general public. With this map to 
refer to, it is easy to follow the narrative, and that which 
will first attract attention is the description sent by " the 
Council to the Lords Proprietors under date of 22 March, 
167-^," about eleven months after the arrival of the Colony : 

" We have with much adoe, our people being weake by 
reason of scarcety of provisions, pallasadoed about 9 acres 
of land, being a point, whereon we first set downe for our 
better security and mounted seaven great Gunns, all the 
other carriages having been lost with the ship Port Royally 
and when the people have done planting shall proceed to 
finish all, being very forward in our pr'paration * * '" * 
for the land being interwoven with great Creekes and 



*The United States Treasury Department has no record of the officers of 
the United States Bank at Charleston, S. C. 



Topography of Charles Toxvn. 14I 

Marshes and sometimes a neck of land running between 
two Rivers, &c. When we arrived here we thought it most 
conducing to our safety to build a town, where we are now 
settled, it being a point with a very convenient landing, and 
safe!}' fortified, being almost surrounded with a large marsh 
and Creek, and after the first joint planting, upon our 
arrival, w'ch necessity had soe put upon us; That the people 
might have sufficient land to plant, and keepe a small stock, 
and that we might keepe as neare together as we could for 
the better security of this place, we were forced to grant 
them towne lotts containing eleaven poles or thereabouts 
p'r head and Tenn acres p'r head to plant as aforesaid ; which 
tenn acre lotts were and are laid out to them and about the 
Towne from the South, Westwards to ye North, by w'ch we 
humbly conceive we shall pr'vent any sudden surpriz, all this 
we were forced to exercise at first for our better defence 
and speedy concourse to the Towne, not knowing what use 
we might make thereof before our people did arrive. And 
now more people are come we find that if they be not suf- 
fered to choose their own conveniencys, it may prove a 
great retarding of a speedy peopling of this country; for 
non omnibus arbusta jiivant ; some delighting" to be near the 
sea and others from it." 

A visitor to-day might find " Old Town " by this descrip- 
tion ; it was a very small area, where the dwelling houses 
were located, and selected for security by the natural ad- 
vantages, and from this protected locality they went forth to 
their planting lands adjacent. The oldest list, embracing 
sixty-two lots and owners, I hereto append, but presume, 
from some of the names, that the record was of a little later 
period than the first Colony : 

Lot I to Edward Mathewes. I Lot 8 to Ralph Marshall. 



Lot 2 to Ensign John Boone. 
Lot 3 to Lieut. Henry Hughes, 
Lot 4 to Christopher Portman. 
Lots 5 and 6 to Capt. Florence O'Sul- 

livan. I Lot 13 to Richard Batin. 

Lot 7 to John Williamson. 1 Lot 14 to James Jours. 



Lot 9 to Capt. Joseph Bayley. 
Lot 10 to Maj. Thomas Gray. 
Lot II to John Foster. 
Lot 12 to Capt. Gyles Hall. 



142 



The Centennial of Incorporation. 



Lot 15 to ffenry Wood. 

Lots 16 and 17 to Wm. Kemis. (Sold 

to Capt. Geo. Thompson.) 
Lot 18 to Ensign Hugh (Carteret. 
Lot 19 to Richard Deyas. 
Lots 20 and 40 to George Beadon. 
Lot 21 to Philip Comerton. 
Lot 22 to Sir John Yeamans. 
Lots 23 and 32 to William Owen. 
Lots 24 and 25 to Capt. Stephen Bull. 
Lots 26 and 27 to Capt. Florence 

O'SuUivan. 
Lot 28 to Priscilla Burke. 
Lot 29 to John Coming. 
Lot 30 to Capt. Henry Braine. 
Lot 31 to Samuel West. 
Lot 33 to Thomas Turpin. 
Lot 34 to Timothy Briggs. 
Lot 35 to John Culpepper. 
Lot 36 to John Pinkard. 
Lots 37 and 54 to Maurice Mathewes. 



Lot 38 to Michael Smith. 

Lot 39 (not delivered). 

Lot 41 to Thomas Smith. 

Lot 42 to Richard Cole. 

Lot 43 to John Marewik. 

Lot 44 to Joseph Dalton. 

Lot 45 to Joseph Pendarvis. 

Lot 46 to Charles Miller. 

Lot 47 to Capt. John Robinson. 

Lot 48 (not delivered). 

Lot 49 (not delivered). 

Lots 50, 51, 52 and 53 to Lords Pro- 
prietors. 

Lot 55 to Thomas Thompson. 

Lot 56 to Ensign Henry Prettye. 

Lot 57 to James Smith. 

Lot 58 to Thomas Ingram. 

Lots 59 and 60 to Capt. Nathaniel 
Sayle. 

l,ot 61 to Thomas Hurt, for his wife. 

Lot 62 to The Lords Proprietors, 



The planting lands were South, West and North of " Old 
Town," occupying the river fronn Wappoo to the bend op- 
posite the Atlantic Phosphate Works, and extending West- 
ward some distance ; a reference to the map will show how 
well these several farms were located, and the first thought 
was evidently to occupy this section of the river front, which 
would leave only the West side to be defended. On the 
map will be found the owners names, the amount of land in 
each farm, and the several locations, all correctly transferred 
from the original plats, received last year from the London 
Record Office. It will be noticed how few names have sur- 
vived the two centuries of time. 

The views of the Proprietors as to the social and indu.s- 
trial state of the Colony are shown in the instructions 
issued to Governor Sayle and his associates ; the arrange- 
ments for lands were as follows : " A hundred and fifty (150) 
acres of land were to be granted to every freeman who 
went out at his own cost, with an addition of one hundred 
and fifty for every man servant and one hundred for every 
woman servant whom he might transport. A hundred acres 



Topography of Charles Town. 143 

were to be granted to all servants at the expiration of their 
term of service. These quantities were to be diminished in 
the next year to one hundred acres and seventy acres re- 
spectively, and after that date to seventy and sixty. 

" The poorer class of settlers were to be supplied with 
food, clothes and tools as a loan out of the common store. 
Every freeholder was to have, in addition to his country 
estate, a town lot of one-twentieth the extent of his whole 
domain." 

The natural advantages of Oyster Point had not escaped 
even the first Governor, for Secretary Dalton tells us, that 
" there is a place between Ashley River and Wando River, 
about 600 acres, left vacant for a town and fort, by the 
direction of the old Governor Coll. Sayle, for that it com- 
mands both the rivers ; it is, as it were, a key to open and 
shut this settlement into safety or danger." 

It is very apparent that there was an early intention to 
change the location of Charles Town from the West bank 
of the Ashley to the present site of this city, and there is 
a reasonable inference, from the perusal of the early records, 
that there were land owners and houses at Oyster Point 
soon after the landing at Albemarle Point, and before the 
new town was ordered surveyed and laid out officially. 

In the Council journal of date 21st February, 167!^, ten 
months after the first landing, this entry is found : 

" Mr. Henry Hughes came this day before the Grand 
Councill and voluntarily surrendered up the one halfe of 
his land nere a place upon the Ashley River knowne by the 
name of the Oyster Poynt, to be employed in and towards 
enlarging of a Towne and common of pasture there intended 
to be erected. 

" Mr. John Coming, and Affera his wife, came likewise 
before the Grand Councill and freely gave up one halfe of 
their land nere the said place for the use aforesaid." 

There was by this, a clear ownership of land on this side 
of the river, a few months after the Sayle Colony landed, 
and its acceptance by the Council from the owners for the 
laying out of a town, is a matter of public record. 



144 TJie Cente7inial of Incorporation. 

On the 23d April, 167!^, is this entry, which is very inter- 
esting : 

" Upon the consideration this day had of the better set- 
tling of this Province according to the Lords Proprietors' 
directions, it is advised and resolved by the Grand Councill 
that warrants be forthwith issued out to the Surveyor Gene- 
rail for the laying out of three colonies or squares of twelve 
thousand acres (that is to say), one collony or square of 
twelve thousand acres about Charles Towne, another about 
James Towne, and a third upon a place knowne at present 
by the name of the Oyster Poynt." 

It is known that the James Town settlers early aban- 
doned their location and joined the other settlers, and it is 
possible this may account for the growth of " Oyster Poynt." 
for in the Council journal of date i8th June, 1672, I find 
the following order, which presupposes some numbers in 
the then resident population on this side of the river. 

" That all the inhabitants on the other part of the river 
called the Oyster Poynt doe repaire to the plantation there, 
now in the possession of Carterett Cooper, and being soe 
embodyed doe march forward to the plantation now in the 
possession of Mr. Thomas Norris or Mr. William Morrill 
which may be thought most safe and useful! for that designe 
under the command of Mr. Robert Downe, there to re- 
maine and exercise such orders and rules as the Grand Coun- 
cill shall thinke fitt to be prosecuted for the better safety 
of that part of this settlement. 

"And that all the inhabitants in and about New Towne 
doe repaire to New Towne aforesaid and there remaine 
under the command of Mr. Richard Conant, according to 
such rules and instructions as the said Richard Conant all- 
ready hath and from time to time shall receive from the 
Grand Councill for the better preservation of the safety of 
the said Towne." 

The original boundaries of " New Towne " were from 
Oyster Point on the South up to a line now represented by 
Hasell and Beaufain Streets on the North, and between 
Ashley and Cooper Rivers; as first laid out there was a 



Topography of Charles Toivn. 145 

fortified section, bounded by vvh;vt is now Meeting Street 
on the West ; a line from East Bay Street, a little North 
of the present St. Philip's Church, formed its Northern 
boundary, and Water Street was its Southern extremity. 
The plan of this town was known as the "Grand Model." 

At this distance of time, it is curious to read Dr. Ram- 
say's description of the topography of the present city a 
century ago, South of the line of what is now Ilasell and 
Beaufain Streets. If any one is curious as to the disposi- 
tion of the ballast from arriving ships the past two centu- 
ries, he can possibly have it all accounted for after examining 
the new map, reading the accompanying narrative of Dr. 
Ramsay, and finding that the bold creeks and borders of 
marsh, the ponds and mud-flats of that period are alni()st 
entirely obliterated, and are now occupied by some of the 
most attractive residences ami places of business in our 
city. A plan of Charles Town from a survey of Edward 
Crisp, Esq., in 1704, published at page 242, City Year Book, 
1880, may further assist the reader in determining localities. 

"The site of Charles Town in its natural state, was a 
slip of land stretching Southeastwardly between two rivers, 
and projecting into the harbor formed by their junction, 
and divided into a number of peninsulas by creeks and 
marshes indenting it on three sides, so as to leave but little 
unbroken highland in the middle. 

The first buildings extended along East Bay Street, and 
had a marsh on their whole front. A considerable creek, 
named Vanderhorst Creek, occupied the foundation of 
Water Street, and passing beyond Meeting Street, sent out 
a branch Northward nearly to the Presbyterian Church. 
Another creek stretched Northwestwardly nearly parallel to 
East Bay Street, from the neighborhood of MacLeod's lots, 
through Longitude Lane and to the North of it. 

The same kind of low ground ran up Queen Street, then 
called Dock Street, beyond the French Church, and through 
Beresford Alley, (Chalmers Street,) till it approached Meet- 
ing Street. The North end of Union Street (State Street) 
was planted with rice about the middle of the eighteenth 
10 



146 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

century. Another very large creek occupied the site of 
the present Central Market and extended Westwardly be- 
yond Meeting Street, which diverged Southwardly almost 
to the Independent Church, and Northwardly spreading 
extensively and then dividing into two branches running 
to the Northwest and to the Northeast, so as to cover a 
large portion of ground. Besides the marsh and these 
creeks which nearly environed three sides of the improved 
part of Charlestown, there was another creek a little 
to the Southward of what is now Water Street, which 
stretched Westwardly over to Church Street, and another 
which ran Northwardly up Meeting Street, and then ex- 
tended across Westwardly nearly to King Street. A creek 
ran from the West near where Peter Smith's house now 
stands, and nearly parallel to South Bay, till it approached 
the last mentioned creek, and was divided from it by King 
Street and a slip of land on each side; six other creeks ran 
Eastwardly from Ashley River, three of which stretched 
across the peninsula so as to approximate to King Street. 
There were also ponds and low grounds in different parts 
of the town. One of these extended on the East side of 
King Street, almost the whole distance between Broad and 
Tradd Streets. This was granted to the French Church in 
1701, but being useless in its then state was leased out by 
them for fifty years. In the course of the period the tenants 
improved and built upon it. There was also a large body 
of low ground at the intersection of Hasell and Meeting 
Streets. The elder inhabitants often mention a large pond 
where the Court House now stands. It is believed that 
this was artificial. It is probable that the intrenchments 
attached to the Western fortifications of Charles Town, 
which extended up and down Meeting Street from the 
vicinity of the Independent Church to the vicinity of the 
Presbyterian Church, were dug so deep as to cause a constant 
large collection of water at that middle part of the lines. It 
was the site of Johnson's covered half-moon, and of a draw- 
bridge, over which was the chief communication between 
the town and the country. No prudent engineer would 



TopograpJiy of Charles Town. 147 

erect such works as these in a pond, though when they were 
erected in the moist soil of Charles Town they would be very 
likely to produce one. Such, with some small alterations, 
was the situation of Charles Town for the first seventy 
years after its settlement." 

Along the Eastern line of the marsh referred to as in 
front of East Bay Street in the early years, there had been 
built in 1762 a sort of sea wall, as shown in the view of the 
city published in the Year Book 1882, at page 341. This 
extended from about Market Street to Water Street, and 
had projecting angles for mounting guns for defence ; from 
this base the present docks and piers have been projected, 
previous to which vessels anchored in the harbor and dis- 
charged and loaded in lighters. 

In 1696-7, what is now Queen Street is described as "a 
little street that leads from Cooper to Ashley River," and 
East Bay as " a street running parallel with Cooper River 
from Ashley River to the French Church." The early town 
was not wanting in coast defences. Towards Cooper River 
were Blake's bastion, Granville bastion, a half-moon, and 
Craven bastion ; on the South Creek (about Water Street) 
were the Palisades and Ashley bastion ; on the North a 
line, and facing Ashley River were Colleton bastion, John- 
son's covered half-moon with a draw-bridge in the line, and 
another to the half-moon, with Carterett bastion next to it. 

In 1769 Boundary Street was laid out from Anson to 
King Street, and in 1770 as far West as the open pond at 
Smith Street. Upon the lands now known as Marion 
Square, the town-gate of the Revolutionary war was erected, 
covered by a tabby or shell-horn work, a remnant of which 
is still standing, and has been recently surrounded with an 
iron railing. As late as 1792 the remains of the military 
works erected during the Revolutionary war were visible 
around the circuit of the city. Boundary, now Calhoun 
Street, was nominally the Northern limit of the city, but the 
habitable portion fell short of it. Old records mention the 
existence at that date of clay houses on Boundary Street, 
which had the merit of cheapness, but the " specifications " 



148 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

for such constructions have not been preserved. There was 
no further change in boundaries until the annexation of the 
territory North of Calhoun Street in 1849, which embraces 
the present city limits. 

WARDS OF THE CITY— 1783-1S83. 

The Act of incorporation divided the then city South of 
what is now Calhoun Street into thirteen Wards, each of 
which was represented by a Warden, and from among the 
thirteen so elected the Intendant was chosen to serve the 
term of one year. 

Starting from Wilkins' Fort, at the South end of Church 
Street, a point about West of the Holmes' house on East 
Battery, Wards i, 2, 3 and 4 composed that section of the 
city lying to the East of the present Church and Anson 
Streets ; Wards 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 lay between Church and 
Anson Street on the East and King Street on the West ; 
Wards 10, 11, 12 and 13 composed all that then was of the 
city lying West of King Street. 

The following are the particular boundaries, as described 
in the Act of incorporation : 

Ward I — From Wilkins' Fort, East side of Church 
Street to the South side of Tradd Street, Easterly to the 
Bay. 

Ward 2 — North side of Tradd Street, to the South side 
of Queen Street Easterly. 

Ward 3 — From the North side of Queen Street to the 
South of Ellery Street Easterly (about Hayne Street). 

Ward 4 — North side of Ellery Street up to Meeting 
Street, and along the same to the West end of Quince 
Street, and along Quince Street through Anson Street to 
Boundary Street Easterly. 

Ward 5 — South end of King Street to the South side of 
Tradd Street Easterly to Church Street. 

Ward 6 — From the North side of Tradd Street along 
King Street, to the South side of Broad to Church Street 
Easterly. 



Wards of the City — iy8j-i88j. 149 

Ward 7 — North side of Broad Street along King Street, 
to the South side of Queen Street, Easterly to Church 
Street. 

Ward 8 — North side of Queen Street along King Street, 
South of Hasell Street, Easterly to join the Ward No. 3. 

Ward 9 — From Hasell Street along King Street to Boun- 
dary Street, and to join Ward No. 4 Easterly. 

Ward 10 — South end of Legare Street, including the 
West end of Tradd Street, Easterly to King Street. 

Ward II — North side of Tradd Street to the West end 
of Broad, Easterly to King Street. 

Ward 12 — ^North side of 13road Street to the West end 
of Ellery Street, Easterly to King Street. 

Ward 13 — North side of Ellery Street, West to Boundary, 
Easterly to King Street. 

At the first election the following citizens were chosen 
Wardens: Ward 1, James Nelson ; Ward 2, Thomas Bee; 
Ward 3, A. Alexander ; Ward 4, B. Beckman ; Ward 5, 
Joshua Ward ; Ward 6, Thos. Heyward ; Ward 7, John 
Matthews; Ward 8, George Flagg ; Ward 9, Thomas Rad- 

cliffe, Jr. ; Ward lo, ; Ward 1 1, Richard Hutson ; 

Ward 12, J. L. Gervais ; Ward 13, . Hon. Richard 

Hutson was selected as the first Intendant. 

This division seems to have remained unchanged ui til, 
under an Act of the Legislature passed December 19th, 
1809, requiring the Intendant and Wardens of Charleston 
on or before the first day of August, once in every seven 
years, to divide the city into four Wards, an Ordinance 
was ratified July 23d, 1810, defining the following Wards: 

Ward I — Bounded by Cooper River, South Bay and Ash- 
ley River, West by the centre of Meeting Street, North by 
the centre of Queen Street. 

Ward 2 — Bounded East by the centre of Meeting Street, 
South and West by Ashley River, North by the centre of 
Queen Street. 

Ward 3 — Bounded East by Cooper River, South by the 
centre of Queen Street, West by the centre of Meeting 
Street, North by Boundary Street. 



150 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Ward 4 — Bounded East by the centre of Meeting Street, 
South by the centre of Queen Street, West by Ashley 
River, North by Cumming's Creek, Boundary, Vander- 
horst and Hudson Streets. 

In this division of the city each Ward had representation 
in the City Council on the basis of its population, and the 
Intendant was elected as such by ballot with the Wardens. 

At the first election in 1810 the following ticket was 
chosen: Intendant, Dr. Thomas McCalla. Wardens: Ward 

1, George Gibbes, John Dupont, William Wightman ; Ward 

2, Peter Smith, Dr. P. Moser ; Ward 3, Lewis Roux, Wil- 
liam Hall, John Strohecker; Ward 4, Thomas Bennett, 
Stephen Thomas, Peter Freneau, Stephen Bulkley. 

There had been no change in Ward representation up to 
1836, when the title of Intendant was changed to Mayor, 
and that of Warden to Alderman, and the following ticket 
elected : 

Mayor, Robert Y. Hayne. Aldermen: Ward i, Dr. T. 
Y. Simons, James Hamilton, John S. Cogdell ; Ward 2, 
M. C. Mordecai, H. W. Peronneau ; Ward 3, George Henry, 
B. J. Howland, G. H. Ingraham ; Ward 4, H. W. Conner, 
S. P. Ripley, Jno. C. Kerr, R. W. Seymour. 

By an Act of the Legislature, ratified December 19th, 
1849, " to extend the limits of the City of Charleston," it 
became the duty of the Commissioners of Cross Roads to 
divide into four Wards, as they might deem most advisable, 
all that part of St. Philip's Parish lying between the present 
limits of the city (then Calhoun or Boundary Street), and a 
line to be drawn due West from Cooper River to Ashley 
River by the junction of Meeting and King Streets. Under 
this Act the following four Wards were added to the four 
last given, making in all eight Wards : 

Ward 5 — Bounded East by Cooper River, South by the 
centre of Calhoun Street, West by the centre of King 
Street, North by the centre of Wolfe and Amherst Streets. 

Ward 6 — Bounded East by the centre of King Street, 
South by the centre of Calhoun Street, West by Ashley 
River, North by the centre of Cannon Street. 



Wards of the City — iy8j--i88j. 151 

Ward 7 — Bounded East by Cooper River, South by the 
centre of Wolfe and Amherst Streets, West by the centre 
of King Street, North by the Northern boundary of the 
City of Charleston. 

Ward 8 — Bounded East by the centre of King Street, 
South by the centre of Cannon Street, West by Ashley 
River, North by the Northern boundary of the City of 
Charleston. 

The first election at which the voters of the four new 
Wards participated was in 1850, when the following citizens 
were elected on a general ticket : 

Mayor — John Schnierle. Aldermen — Ward i, Jas. Chap- 
man, Alex. Gordon, John Drummond ; Ward 2, P. J. Por- 
cher, W. A. Hayne ; Ward 3, W. H. Gilliland, W. M. Mar- 
tin, Wm. Kirkwood ; Ward 4, Dr. John Bellinger, B. F. 
Scott, Henry Cobia, T. G. Simons, Jr.; Ward 5, John H. 
Honour; Ward 6, F. C. Blum; Ward 7, J. M. Eason ; 
Ward 8, O. Reeder. 

It is curious to notice, that there were thirteen Wards a 
hundred years ago, and one Warden elected from each 
Ward, and at the coming election in December the division 
of the city is into twelve Wards, each electing one Alder- 
man, and a second elected on a general ticket by the vote 
of the whole city, making the number in the City Council 
twenty-four, and the Mayor. 

By the Act of 21st December, 1882, the boundaries of 
the twelve Wards were fixed as follows : 

Ward I — All that portion of said city lying South of 
Broad Street and East of King Street. 

Ward 2 — All that portion lying South of Broad Street 
and West of King Street. 

Ward 3 — All that portion lying North of Broad Street, 
South of Hasell Street and West of King Street. 

Ward 4 — All that portion lying North of Broad Street, 
South of Wentworth Street and West of King Street. 

Ward 5 — All that portion lying North of Hasell Street, 
South of Calhoun Street and East of Kins Street. 



152 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Ward 6 — All that portion Ijnng North of Wentworth 
Street, South of Calhoun Street and West of King Street. 

Ward 7 — All that portion lying North of Calhoun Street, 
South of Mary Street and East of King Street. 

Ward 8 — All that portion lying North of Calhoun Street, 
South of Radcliffe and Bee Streets and West of King 
Street. 

Ward 9 — All that portion lying North of Mary Street to 
the city boundary, East of Nassau Street up to its inter- 
section with Amherst Street, East of Hanover Street. 

Ward 10 — All that portion lying North of Mary Street, 
West of Nassau Street up to its intersection with Amherst 
Street, and from Amherst Street West of Hanover Street 
to the city boundary, and East of King Street. 

Ward II — All that portion lying West of King Street, 
East of Rutledge Avenue and North of Radcliffe Street 
to the city boundary. 

Ward 12 — All that portion lying North of Bee Street to 
the city boundary, and West of Rutledge Avenue. 

To present the numerous interesting matters properly 
noticeable in describing the topography of the city is clearly 
beyond the time and space permitted to me. but the new 
map accompanying this will be found most interesting. It 
is a pleasure to mention that our laborious townsman, 
General DeSaussure, has collected a considerable amount 
of information on this subject, and I trust it will be printed 
in a permanent record at no distant day. 



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The Harbor — Fort Johnson. 153 

THE HARDOR-ITS FORTS, LIGHTS AND .lETTIES. 

Few cities have a more safe or spacious harbor than 
Charleston ; tlie area of the tidal basin, as computed from 
the Coast Survey Chart and Mills' Atlas of South Carolina, 
is about fifteen square miles; only a few miles Eastwardly 
from the city, the ocean is in full view, and vessels have 
been known to sail into the inner harbor and anchor oppo- 
site their piers without other assistance than their own sails. 
So far as anchorage capacity is concerned a thousand sail 
could be acc(jmniodated. The shore line on either side as 
you enter, attracts attention on account of the historic 
events which have occurred at different [)oints, and a brief 
reference to the forts properly belongs to this occ.ision, and 
while it is not possible to go into details, enough can be siid 
to show how valuable and interesting a complete histoiy of 
each would prove ; on the series of plats herewith presented 
the locations of the original and subsequent forts are shown, 
which I trust will tend to invite further attention to this 
subject. 

FORT JOHNSON. 

1704. The first fortification ever erected for the defence 
of this harbor was at the Northeast point of James Island, 
in 1704, to meet the exigency of a threatened invasion by 
a French fleet under M. DeFebourne, and was named in 
honor of Sir Nathaniel Johnson, Governor of the Carolinas 
under the Proprietary government. It was but a small 
work, and with the ordnance then in use, could not have 
been a sure defence against vessels intent on entering the 
harbor, as the distance to be covered by the small cannon 
of the period was over two miles to the Southwest point of 
Sullivan's Island ; and for the class of vessels then in use, a 
depth of water was available out of reach of such guns. 

1759. A second fort, built of tapia, was probably an en- 
larged and improved permanent work, on the site of the 
first ; this was the fort of the Revolutionary period ; it was 
20 



154 T^^^^ Centennial of Incorporation. 

close in advance of and to the Northeast of the Post Revo- 
lutionary work : in plan triangular, with salients bastioned 
and priest-capped, the gorge closed, the gate protected by 
an earth-work, a defensible sea wall of tapia extended the 
fortification to the West and Southwest. 

1705. Ill this year a noted event occurred here which has 
passed into history, and has made Fort Johnson a favored 
locality. A sloop-of-war had arrived in Charles Town har- 
bor with a supply of stamped paper ; casting anchor under 
cover of this British military post the stamped paper was 
landed and stored here ; there was great excitement in 
Charles Town, which resulted in a public meeting of the 
citizens, at which a committee, consisting of Daniel Cannon, 
Wm. Williamston, Ed. Weyman and others, were appointed 
to devise means to defeat the use of stamped paper in this 
Colony. Three companies of volunteers were organized of 
about fifty men each, under Captains Marion, Pinckney and 
Elliott, fully armed, and on the night of the second day after 
the meeting they embarked in boats at LamboU's bridge, at 
the West end of South Bay Street, effecting a landing on 
James Island, after midnight, between Styles' plantation 
and the fort ; the battalion marched promptly, crossed the 
bridge leading to the fort without opposition, and took pos- 
session of it — the garrison was placed under guard, and the 
stamped paper was secured. Preparations were then made 
to defend the fort against any attack which might be made 
upon it by the sloop-of-war, when the commanding officer 
at day-break should find out what had taken place. Every 
cannon was loaded and manned, and a flag displayed show- 
ing a blue field and three white crescents — this was the first 
form of the present State flag. At day-light a boat was 
sent from the sloop-of-war to ascertain the meaning of so 
unusual a display. The naval ofificer was taken into the fort 
and shown the complete and sufficient preparations made to 
defend it, and was told that it was the fixed determination 
of the volunteers to burn the stamped paper, unless the 
officer in command would pledge his honor to receive it on 
board and forthwith depart from the harbor ; notice was 



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The Harbor — Fort Johnson. 155 

also given, that if the sloop fired upon the fort, the garri- 
son would repel force with force. The officer then returned 
to the sloop-of-war, and two hours after, concluded to re- 
ceive the stamped paper aboard. After it was all delivered, 
the sloop weighed anchor and proceeded to sea the same after- 
noon. It is as well to note, that Charleston paraded armed 
men by authority of a Town meeting, captured a British 
fort while under the authority of the crown, and displayed 
a blue flag with three white crescents, ten years before that 
occasion in a sister Colony when 

" The embattled farmers stood 
And fired the shot heard round the world. ' 

Concord was fortunate in having a poet — Fort Johnson 
has ever been wanting in this respect. 

1775. The spirit of liberty was now abroad, and of course 
the Royal Governor, Lord VVm. Campbell, had become quite 
odious to the people of Charles Town. British troops being 
expected. Fort Johnson was a second time seized, this time 
by order of the Council of Safety — who ordered Lieut.-Col. 
Motte, with three companies of Moultrie's regiment, to oc- 
cupy it. No resistance was made ; the armament consist- 
ed of twenty-one guns — 26 and i8-pounds; the flag used by 
this garrison was a blue field with one white crescent — this 
was the second phase of the State's battle-flag. In Novem- 
ber of that year, three shots were fired from F'ort Johnson 
at the British sloops Tamer and Cherokee, then lying at an- 
chor near Sullivan's Island, in response to the heavy firing 
of those ships on the operations then going forward, of ob- 
structing Hog Island Channel. 

177(). On the 28th June Fort Johnson was under the 
command of Col. Christopher Gadsden, mounting twenty 
guns 26 and 18-pounds, but did not have the opportunity of 
engaging the enemy, as the garrison at Fort Sullivan alone, 
under Col. Wm. Moultrie, met Sir Peter Parker's fleet. At 
this date there was a supporting battery, mounting twelve 
heavy guns, five hundred and forty-eight yards West of Fort 
Johnson. 

1780. Sir Henry Clinton's Siege Map of this date desig- 



156 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

nates Fort Johnson as "destroyed," whether by miUtary 
order or by storms is not known. According to a survey 
made in June, 1775, by Benjamin Lord, Deputy Surveyor, 
at the request of the Commissioners of Fortifications, this 
military reservation was reported as eighty-nine and a half 
acres, exclusive of the fort. The entire area, including the 
fort, battery at the gate, barracks, &c., are accurately shown 
in the accompanying Plat A. The original plan, judging 
from the area laid out, evidently had in view an extensive 
entrenched camp, to be the basis of defence for any land 
attack on Charleston from the South and West, as well as 
the control of the harbor. 

1787. In this year a plan was submitted by Col. Senf, the 
Engineer of the State of South Carolina, for an enclosed 
battery of eight guns, near the location of the old fort, as 
shown in Flat A. 

1793. This the third work was built by Governor Wm. 
Moultrie of South Carolina, this year, and occupied ground 
in rear of the works previously in use. In 1794 a battery 
was built by the United States, West of the main work. 

179(>. Repairs were found necessary to preserve Fort 
Johnson, and were made by the United States government 
this year. 

1800. A breach was made in the sea wall, East of the 
fort, by the violence of the great gale of this year, and so 
serious was the inroad of the seas as shown in Plat marked 
B, that the fort was temporarily abandoned. 

1807. In April of this year Lieut.-Col. John Williams 
reported as follows : " Nothing has been said as to the pres- 
ent state of Fort Johnson, as the subscriber does not per- 
ceive that any part of the ruins can be brought into use, 
unless it be by forming a mass in front to prevent the fur- 
ther depredations of the sea." 

1812. In view of the threatened war with England, Gen. 
J. G. Swift reported to Gen. Pinckney that the survey of 
Fort Johnson would be hastened, and that two batteries 
would be ready for service in a short time. 

1815. Lieut. James Gadsden, United States Engineer, in 



@ 







CHARLESTON HARBOH.Som'H CAROLINA 

Surve>edbeh.een Mai ch 7'J' & May J0"']0fa5 
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IIKEVET MAJOR GENERAL R DBLAFIEIiD 
CHIEF ENGINEER U S.ARMY. 



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The Harbor — Fort Johnson. i t^y 

this year reported to Gen. Swift that " Fort Johnson is little 
better than a battery in ruins, the gale of 1813 having nearly 
destroyed it," and he recommended the abandonment of the 
site and the construction of a new work, to mount twelve 
guns, a short distance in rear of it. 

1821. A survey made this year, with plan of the work by 
Capt. W. T. Poussin of the 'iopographical Engineers, show- 
ed the work to be in ruins, and in 1821 it is agafn referred 
to by the United States Engineers, as follows : " The North- 
east point of James Island, projecting into the harbor about 
midway between Sullivan's Island and the city, is the site 
of the few remains of old Fort Johnson;" in 1827 scarcely 
a vestige remained, and subsequently it does not appear in 
the list of works, which it was deemed advisable to preserve 
as accessions to the proposed system of defence ; but later 
two permanent buildings for ofificers and men, and a Mar- 
tello Tower, to the Southwest, were built, and remained 
standing until after hostilities began in 1861, in the war be- 
tween the States. 

l.SGl. To aid in the reduction of Fort Sumter, a mortar 
battery was located at this point, and at four o'clock on the 
morning of April 12th, 1861, a shell from a mortar was ex- 
ploded over Fort Sumter, and this was the signal for the 
bombardment of that post. Capt. James was in command 
of the mortar battery on that occasion. Subsequent chang- 
es, and improvements, of this locality, in the 1861-65 period, 
made Fort Johnson, with its outposts. Battery Simpkins on 
the Southeast, Battery Glover on the West, at One Hund- 
red Pines, and Battery Wampler, near the old Martello 
Tower, an extensive entrenched camp of considerable 
strength and capacity. The fort proper mounted twenty 
guns and mortars, of which eight were of the heaviest cali- 
bre — eight and ten inch columbiads, and six and seven inch 
rifles. Battery Simpkins and its adjacent works mounted 
besides three heavy guns and three mortars. In 1865 the 
United States government made a survey of this localit}-, 
and the map prepared is presented herewith marked C. 

18G4. On the 3d day of July an attacking force of two 



158 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

regiments of infantry and sixty artillerists, coming in boats 
from Morris Island, under the command of Gen. Gurney,* 
of New York, attempted to land between Battery Simpkins 
and Fort Johnson, but were quickly repulsed by the Con- 
federate infantry and artillery under command of Lieut.-Col. 
J. A. Yates, First South Carolina Artillery. Col. Hoyt and 
one hundred and forty of the command and five barges were 
captured. On 17th February, 1865, this fort was evacuated, 
and the works have been allowed to go to decay. It will be 
interesting to record the number and calibre of the guns in 
position here, when abandoned, as the records of the United 
States War Department are incorrectly given. Under date 
of July 28th, 1883, Col. Yates, who commanded this part of 
the harbor defences, states: "The list below shows the bat- 
teries and guns as we left them ; this is accurate, as through 
the kindness of Dr. Rob't Lebby, Jr., some of the guns lying 
there have been measured. The heavy works around Fort 
Johnson were built by myself, with labor loaned by Mr. Geo. 
A. Trenholm and Mr. Theo. D. Wagner, after the attack 
of 3d July, at which time there was only a light earth-work. 

First. Battery Glover, near 'One Hundred Pines,' oppo- 
site Charleston. Four 32-pound smooth bore. 

Second. Battery Wainpler.w&d.x o\6.y\.A.x\.Q\\o^ov^Q\\ One 
7-inch Brooks, banded and rifled gun ; one lo-inch smooth 
bore columbiad. 

Fort Johnson. Two lo-inch rifled and banded columbi- 
ads ; two lo-inch smooth bore. 

Battery Simpkins. Four 8-inch columbiads, smooth bore ; 
two 8-inch mortars. 

Rifled Battery, on the beach between Battery Simpkins 
and Fort Johnson. One 6-inch banded Brooks gun (rifled). 

Small Battery inside of lines at Fort JoJinson. Two 
30-pound rifled Parrott guns captured near same (no name); 
one 42-pound rifled and banded ; two 8-inch mortars. 

Battery one mile above Fort Johnson {Cheves), on East coast 
of James Island. Four 8-inch columbiads mounted on na- 
val carriages." 

*Gen. Wm. Gurney, commanding the forces, failed to land. 










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The Harbor — Port Moultrie. 159 

FORT MOULTRIE. 

1770. There have been three different forts erected on or 
near the site of the present Fort Moultrie. On January 
loth, 1776, a facine battery was ordered to be constructed, 
and soon after " Fort Sullivan " was built of palmetto logs, 
by Col. Wm. Moultrie. The plan of this fort was square, 
with bastions at the salients, constructed of a crib-work of 
palmetto logs sixteen feet thick, filled in with sand ; merlons 
of palmetto logs, filled in with sand to the same thickness, 
and ten feet above platform. On the 28th June the work 
was only finished on the front, the Northern half was then 
raised to a height of only seven feet, when Sir Peter Parker 
made his attack; the flag used was a blue field, with one 
crescent and bearing the word Liberty. The armament 
consisted of thirty-one guns, chiefly 26° and 18**. Since this 
victory of 28th June the fort has borne the name of its he- 
roic commander. 

1780. On the 9th April of this year, Admiral Arbuthnot, 
co-operating with Sir Henry Clinton in the siege of Charles- 
ton, took advantage of wind and tide, and passed Fort Moul- 
trie, Col. C. C. Pinckney, commanding, without stopping to 
engage it. The fleet suffered in casualties and injuries to 
hull and rigging; one ship getting aground was fired on 
from Haddrell's Point and abandoned. On Sir Henry Clin- 
ton's Map of the Siege of Charleston, Year Book 1882, page 
360, it is noted that this fort, with the half-moon battery for 
eighteen guns on the West of it, surrendered on terms, the 
4th May, to the seamen and marines of the fleet. This was 
eight days before the surrender of the city. 

1790. It is believed that the temporary character of the 
early structure, and the action of the tides, soon destroyed 
the first palmetto log fort ; in this year, the government 
secured from the State a reservation of about four acres, and 
laid the foundation of the second fort. The tracing marked 
D, herewith, shows the plan, which was pentagonal, with 
obverse salients to the channel — the armament consisted of 
ten 24° and six 12°. In a storm of some severity and high 



i6o The Centennial of Incorporation. 

tides of October ist and 2d, 1803, the glacis fronting the 
harbor was destroyed, and the counter scarf ruined. 

1807. In April of this year Lieut. -Col. John Williams of 
the Engineers, reported "that the land reserved for the fort, 
originally less than four acres, is in fact already washed into 
the sea, the counter scarf and glacis obliterated, the revet- 
ment of the parapet, which was of brick, is in most part 
gone, and some of the guns have pitched forward, and leav- 
ing their broken carriages behind them, lie in the debris ; 
even the furnace for heating shot is now only visible, as 
part of it projects from the sand of the beach, when not 
covered by the surf ; there is nothing in this whole work- 
that can be considered in any other view, than a heap of 
rubbish of no other value than the bricks that might come 
in use again." 

1809. In June of this year, Major Alexander McComb, 
Engineer Corps, presented a plan for the third fort, as 
shown herewith on Plat marked E, which appears to have 
been approved, for on December 10th, 181 1, the Secretary 
of War, Hon. Wm. Eustis, informed the Chairman of a Con- 
gressional Committee as follows: " Fort Moultrie, situated 
at the entrance of the harbor, is of an irregular form, built 
of brick, filled in with sand, presenting a battery of three 
sides on the sea front, with ramparts, parapets, &c., mount- 
ing forty guns ; the magazine is brick, dry and calculated to 
hold five hundred barrels of powder; the barracks are of 
brick sufflcient for five hundred men and ofificers ; the gar- 
rison is fixed at three hundred and ninety men." 

1820. The Engineer's report of this year speaks of Fort 
Moultrie as a work of some strength, but by no means ade- 
quate to its object, its battery being weak, and the scarf so 
low as to oppose no serious obstacle to escalade. Col. 
J. G. Totten's report confirmed this condition ten years 
afterwards. This is the fort now standing — its site was 
much endangered in 1839 ^Y '^^^ advance of high water- 
mark. 

18(»0. On the 26th December of this year, an event oc- 
curred which led directly to a disastrous war. Major Rob- 



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TJic Harbor — Fort Moultrie. ]6i 

ert Anderson and the garrison at this post, contrary to 
orders from the Secretary of War, in violation of the un- 
derstandings and agreements between the State and Fed- 
eral authorities, at the suggestion of an officer not of the 
garrison, removed to Fort Sumter during the night, spiking 
the guns, burning the carriages, &c. This unexpected and 
unauthorized act brought on the war between the States. 
The armament at that time consisted of sixteen 24*^, 
fourteen 32°, ten 8-inch columbiads, five 8-inch sea coast 
howitzers and seven field pieces. It was immediately 
occupied by the Marion Artillery, Capt. J. G. King, fifty 
men — Lafayette Artillery, Capt. J. J. Pope, fifty-five men — 
Washington Artillery, Capt. Geo. H. Walter, fifty men — 
German Artillery, Capt. C. Nohrden, fifty men — under com- 
mand of Lieut. -Col. W^ G. DeSaussure, First Regiment Vol- 
unteer Artillery, Fourth Brigade South Carolina Militia. 
Subsequently, it was put in order and ni uch strengthened, 
guns remounted, and under the command of Col. R. S. 
Ripley took a prominent part in the reduction of Fort 
Sumter on 12th and 13th April, 1861. 

It was permanently garrisoned, during the war, by the 
First South Carolina Infantry, Col. Wm. Butler, command- 
ing, and on the memorable 7th April, 1863, was vigorously 
engaged with Fort Sumter, in the complete repulse of the 
iron-clad squadron under Rear Admiral Dupont — -eight hun- 
dred and sixty-eight shots having been fired from this post 
in this action. After Gen. Gilmore's descent upon Morris 
Island, July loth, 1863, it took part at long range in the 
defence of that island until its evacuation, September 6th, 
1863. 

On the 8th September, Fort Moultrie, supported by most 
of the batteries on Sullivan's Island, was heavily engaged 
with the iron-clad fleet, and particularly the '■'Ironsides''' 
frigate. 

1865. Shots continued to be exchanged with the moni- 
tors at intervals until 4th February, 1865, when, according 
to Judge Advocate Cowley, United States Navy, the last 
shot was fired at the squadron from this post, which struck 
21 



1 62 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

the monitor Canonicus. At the evacuation the same month 
the armament was twelve guns and mortars, among them 
four lo-inch columbiads, two 8-inch columbiads, and three 
rifled guns (42^ and 32^). Since the war great changes have 
taken place, and its armament comprises twelve 15-inch guns 
in barbette and four 13-inch mortars. The entire space 
inside the fort is now an extensive bomb-proof for the pro- 
tection of the garrison when engaged with an enemy. The 
garrison in future will be quartered outside the walls, and 
occupy the fort only when engaged with an enemy. 

CASTLE PINCKNEY. 

1794. The site of this work was selected in 1794, on a 
shoal known as Schultes' Folly Island, by Paul Hyacinthe 
Perrault, under orders from the Secretary of War, April 
iith of that year, in pursuance of the directions of Presi- 
dent Washington to fortify the port and harbor of Charles- 
ton, and to act under the orders of the Governor of South 
Carolina. The work, however, being on a scale supposed 
too extensive for the funds appropriated, was not attempted 
until 1797; between this time and 1804 a work was erected 
on this site, the character of which, however, is unknown. 

1806. On February i8th of this year, it was reported that 
the severe gale of 1804 had left this work a ruin, and in 
April the following year Lieut.-Col. Williams reported that 
the fort could not be effectually repaired, without taking it 
down to the foundation, and sawing off the renmants of the 
heads of piles at low water-mark. 

1809. On January 6th a new masonry work was reported 
by the Secretary of War as commenced, and in a rapid state 
of progress, and two years afterwards it is described as fol- 
lows: "This new work of an elliptical form, built of brick, 
has two tiers of guns, of which thirty are mounted — eight 
in casemates and the remainder en barbette ; a good maga- 
zine and quarters for two hundred men and officers.'" The 
work at that date was considered the most important in the 
harbor. A plan of the fort, showing the height to which it 



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.r\^ The Harbor — Castle Pinckney. 163 



was built in 18 10 is presented herewith in the sketch mark- 
ed F. Up to 1829 nothing further was done except to make 
minor repairs and to protect the foundations by depositing 
around it a quantity of large stones. 

1S2J). In April of this year Lieut. Brewerton recommend- 
ed the construction of a sea wall, to strengthen the founda- 
tions, and this was completed in 1832. In the following 
year additions were made by Capt. Eliason for the tempo- 
rary defence of the gorge, by pallisades, &c. 

1860. At the close of this year its armament consisted of 
fourteen 24*^, four 42°, four 8-inch sea coast howitzers, one 
lO-inch and one 8-inch mortar, and four light pieces for 
flank defence. On the 27th December, i860, a detachment 
of the First Regiment Rifles, South Carolina Militia, con- 
sisting of the Washington Light Infantry, Capt. C. H, Si- 
monton, the Carolina Light Infantry, Capt. B. G. Pinckney, 
and the Meagher Guard, Capt. Ed. McCrady, Jr., under the 
command of Col. J. J. Petigrevv and Major Ellison Capers, 
proceeded at half-past four o'clock in the afternoon to Rail- 
road Accommodation wharf, where the battalion embarked 
on the steamer Nina ; landing at Castle Pinckney, the com- 
mand scaled the walls with ladders and took possession of 
the fort, which was occupied at the time by a working party 
under Lieut. Meade, United States Army. While garrisoned 
by the Zouave Cadets, Capt. C. E. Chichester(i86i), a number 
of prisoners from the battle of first Manassas were confined 
here, among whom was Col. Corcoran of the New York Sixty- 
ninth Regiment. Later in the year Castle Pinckney was pre- 
pared for an armament, guns were mounted, &c. The garri- 
son continued unchanged until March, 1862. The Confeder- 
ates while in possession changed its character somewhat, by 
an embankment of earth against the scarf of the sea front, 
thus closing the casemate embrasures and converting it into 
a barbette battery, with empaulements for four guns — three 
lo-inch columbiads and one Brook's rifle on centre pintle car- 
riage, and this was its armament when evacuated in Febru- 
ary, 1865, and maintained at the present time. A drawing 
presenting the location of Castle Pinckney is appended mark- 



164 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

ed " G," which shows it to be a little less than one nnile from 
the East front of the city. 

FORT SUMTER. 

1827. In December of this year, a Board of Engineers 
submitted a report on the defences of Charleston harbor, 
with a plan of a casemated battery designated for the 
shoal, situated about one mile Southwest of Fort Moultrie, 
and about the same distance Northeast of Fort Johnson, 
and these plans were approved by the Secretary of War, 
Hon. P. B. Porter, in December, 1828. The drawings and 
memoir describe it as an enclosed pentagonal work of 
masonry, with truncated salients, and two tier of guns in 
casemate and one in barbette. The armament was to con- 
sist of one hundred and forty guns and four mortars, eighty- 
one guns being in casemate. To sustain a determined 
attack seven hundred men would be required. 

1851. Gen. Totten reported this year that the total 
armament would be one hunored and forty-six guns, in- 
cluding six mortars and thirteen field pieces. 

1860. The work was essentially completed at this date 
in accordance with the plan herewith presented (Plat H), 
except as to the embrasures in the second tier of casemates. 
Capt. J. G. Foster, United States Army, reports the follow- 
ing guns then mounted : 

Casemates — Three 42°, twenty-four 32°, three 8-inch howit- 
zers. 

Barbette — Two lo-inch columbiads, six 8-inch columbiads, 
five 8-inch howitzers, five 42°, three 32°, six 24°. 

On the parade arranged as mortars — one lo-inch colum- 
biad, four 8-inch columbiads. Total, sixty-two guns. 

18(>1. On the 12th and 13th April of this year it was 
bombarded by troops of the State of South Carolina, under 
Gen. Beauregard, and surrendered by Major Anderson, 
United States Army, on the latter day. The United States 
flag was saluted, and the United States garrison evacuated 
on the 14th, and embarked aboard steamships and proceed- 



fe.'-' 



1»» 



V^ 



V«^'^ 



^t^^ 



SKETCH or 

SHUre'S rOLLY ISLAND 

BY CAPT eUASON 

1833. 



From.Mie jiearosf, Point of {Vie City 850Y.'^*«S 



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■' W,i i im i< i ii U" i H i|ii H''« i |< i|i' H «i na iB**—^^ 



A* 



The Harbor — Fort Sumter. 165 

ed North. Lieut. -Col. R. S. Ripley, Confederate States 
Army, was ordered to occupy Fort Sumter upon its evacu- 
ation, proceeding to Fort Sumter witli Capt. Hallonquist's 
Company, First South Carolina Regular Artillery. The 
Palmetto Guard, Capt. G. B. Cuthbert, was ordered over 
from Morris Island, same day. On the 15th the Palmetto 
Guard were relieved by Capt. Alfred Rhett's Company, 
seventy-five men, First South Carolina Regular Artillery, 
with Lieuts. Mitchell and Blake ; soon after, Capt. Hallon- 
quist was ordered to report to Gen. Bragg at Pensacola, and 
Capt. Alfred Rhett assumed command. 

1803. On the 7th April of this year its armament was : 
in casemates, thirty-five guns of 8-inch, 42° and 32", and in 
barbette, thirty-seven guns of lO-inch and 8-inch rifled, 7-inch 
rifled and 42°; total, seventy-two guns, and four lo-inch mor- 
tars. On that day the fort was commanded by Col. Alfred 
Rhett, of the First South Carolina Artillery, and bore the 
brunt of the attack by the iron-clad squadron under Rear-Ad- 
miral Dupont, United States Navy. This squadron num- 
bered eight turreted vessels, carrying sixteen guns of i i-inch 
and 15-inch calibre, and one frigate, the new Ironsides, carry- 
ing fifteen ii-inch guns and one rifled gun of 8-inch calibre. 
In two hours and a quarter the entire squadron retired com- 
pletely worsted, after firing one hundred and thirty-nine shots 
from twenty-three guns. More than half the vessels were 
badly damaged, and one went down early the next morning. 
Less than half of the guns of the fort were engaged, firing 
eight hundred and ten shots. The masonry in a few places 
was much injured, but the efficiency of the fort to renew 
the combat was but little impaired. 

On the loth July Gen. Gilmore, commanding the United 
States troops, in conjunction with Rear-Admiral Dahlgren, 
United States Navy, made a successful descent upon the 
Southern end of Morris Island, menacing batteries Wagner 
and Gregg, the outposts of Fort Sumter, on the Northern 
end of that island. Fort Sumter took part in the defence 
of these works until 17th August, on which day Gen. Gil- 
more opened his breeching batteries of the heaviest rifled 



1 66 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

cannon upon Fort Sumter, at unprecedented range, from 
the distance of 3,428 to 4,290 yards, firing over the heads of 
the outposts, and actually demolishing Fort Sumter in seven 
days, although not silencing it until September ist — the 
sixteenth day of the bombardment. The part played by 
the United States Navy in the demolition of the fort was 
quite secondary, being limited to an occasional night attack. 
During the first seven days the land batteries threw against 
the fort five thousand and nine projectiles, of 100, 200 and 
300 pounds, from fourteen parrot rifled guns. 

I append the following complimentary order of General 
Beauregard to the First Regiment South Carolina Regular 
Artillery : 

HEAD-QUARTERS, \ 

Charleston, S. C, ist September, 1863. \ 
General — The Commanding General has witnessed with genuine pride and 
satisfaction, the defence made of Fort Sumter by Col. Rhett, his officers, and 
the men of the First Regiment of South Carolina Regular Artillery — noble 
fruits of the discipline, application to their duties, and of the organization of 
tlie regiment. In the annals of war no stouter defence was ever made, and no 
work ever before encountered as formidable a bombardment as that under 
which Fort Sumter has been successfully held. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
(Signed) THOMAS JORDAN, 

Chief of Staff. 
To Brigadier-General Ripley, 

Commanding First Military District South Carolina. 

On 6th September batteries Wagner and Gregg, the out- 
posts of Fort Sumter, after enduring an unprecedented fire 
from land and sea for upwards of fifty-four days and nights, 
during which time two assaults in force had been repulsed, 
were successfully evacuated on this night, and their garri- 
sons brought into the inner harbor for its defence. 

On 7th September Col. Rhett was advanced to the com- 
mand of the First Military District, including Fort Sumter 
and the city, and was relieved by Major Stephen Elliott, 
Confederate States Army, commanding Fort Sumter with a 
force of infantry. 

On the night of the 8th September a naval attack in 
boats carrying four hundred and fifty picked men, was easily 



i1 



b 



PLAN or FORT SUMTER 

CHARLESTON HARBOR, sS, C. 
AS ORIGIN ALL Y DESIGN ED, 
AND A S COMPLETED IN J8€l . 

SCALE I /NCR TO SO FEET . 







TJie Harbor — Fort Sumter. 167 

repulsed in twenty minutes, the officer second in command 
and one hundred and two others were captured. 

On 26th October, the second heavy bombardment was 
begun ; this time from the evacuated batteries — Wagner 
and Gregg — and others on the Northern end of Morris 
Island aided by the squadron, was continued without in- 
termission for forty days and nights, until December 6th. On 
the 1 3th October, by the falling of one of the East casemates, 
caused by a single shot from the enemy's batteries, eleven 
members of the Washington Light Infantry of Charleston 
were killed.* 

On the nth December an accidental explosion of the 
small arms magazine took place at nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing. The Commissary store-room being proximate, suffered 
severely in casualties, Capt. Edward D. Frost and his non- 
commissioned staff and several company sergeants then 
drawing rations were instantly killed. There were besides 
forty wounded in the upper and lower casemates, accessible 
by passage to the scorching blast of the explosion, many 
were sleeping in their bunks when injured, having just been 
relieved from night duty. The physical damage to the fort 
was so great, as to ^ause grave apprehensions for its con- 
tinued occupancy, and the fact that these serious disabili- 
ties were overcome and the fort held, is in keeping with the 
whole heroic defence throughout the war. 

18G4. On the 24th May Lieut.-Col. Stephen Elliott, com- 
manding, was relieved, for active field service in Virginia, 
and promoted Brigadier-General, and Capt. John C. Mit- 
chell, First South Carolina Artillery, was assigned to the 
command. 

On the 7th July the third heavy bombardment com- 
menced, and reached its height on the 20th instant, when 
Capt. Mitchell, the commander of the fort, was killed on the 
Southwest parapet. 

*Capt. James M. Carson's Company A, Twenty-fifth South Carolina Vohm- 
teers. Killed — Sergeant W. Capers Owens, Sergeant J. Adger Stevens, Pri- 
vates Samuel C, Anderson, Samuel L. Burroughs, F. Marion Burroughs, Orville 
J. Burn, James Calder, Walter G. Gibson, J. Walker Jones, Laurence T. Lee, 
W. L. Patterson. 



1 68 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

On the 2 1st July Capt. T. A. Huguenin, First South 
Carolina Infantry, succeeded Capt. Mitchell in command of 
the fort. The bombardment continued, with some decline 
of fire, until the first week in September, or upwards of two 
months; after this, desultory firing was kept up until the 
evacuation of the fort, on the night of the 17th February, 
1865. ^ 

Fort Sumter mounted at that date four heavy and five 
light guns, and was stronger for defence than when destroy- 
ed as an artillery post one year and five months previously, 
having been garrisoned during this period by infantry. 

1870. In January of this year the Board of Engineers, 
United States Army, submitted a plan for arranging Fort 
Sumter for a battery of barbette guns. This plan was some- 
what modified afterwards, and work has been commenced 
upon it, but not completed. In accordance with the latest 
modifications the armament will consist of twenty guns in 
casemates, ten 15-inch guns or equivalent en barbette, four 
siege or field pieces or gatling guns. 

ROSTER OF OFFICERS IN COMMAND OF FORT JOHNSON, 
FORT MOULTRIE, FORT SUMTER AJSfD CASTLE PINCK- 
NEY, 1860-65. 

Fort Johnson. 

iSfio — Dec Capt. Joseph Johnson 17th Regiment, S. C M. 

1861 — April Capt. George H. James S. C R. A. 

1861— May Lt.-Col. A. D. Frederick 2d S. C. Artillery. 

D, \ Lt.-Col. Jos. A. Yates, up to | o /- d a 

186'; ■{ TTU ^o^- >• S. C K. A. 

-" ( February, 1865. ) 

Fort Moultrie. 

i860— Dec. 27th. . . Lt.-Col.W. G. DeSaussure. . ist Reg't Art., 4th Brig., S.C.M. 

1861— Jan Col. R. S. Ripley. S. C. R. A. 

1861 — April Capt.W. Ransom Calhoun. . S, C. R. A. 

1861— Summer of. .Capt. Thos. M. Wagner S. C. R. A. 

1861 C^pt. Jos. A. Yates S. C. R. A. 

1861 — Nov Col. Jno. Dunovant S. C. R. I. 

1862— Jan Lt.-Col. Wm. Butler S. C. R. I. 

1862— June Maj. Thos. M. Baker S. C. R. I. 



The Harbor — Officers in Coininand of Forts. 169 

1862— Dec Capt. T. A. liuguenin S. C. R. I. 

1863— Aug Maj. Rob't DeTreville S. C. R. I. 

1863— Nov Capt. Jacob Valentine S. C. R. I. 

1S63— Dec Maj. Warren Adams S. C. R. I. 

1864— Oct. to Jan.. Capt. C. H. Rivers S. C. R. I. 

1864 — to Feb. 1865 . Maj. Warren Adams S. C. R. I. 

Fort Sumter. 



( Lt.-Col. R. S. Ripley with Capt. liallonquist's Company of 
1861 — April 14th, < 40 men, S. C. R. A., and the Palmetto Guard, Capt. Cuth- 
( bert, as a garrison. 
fCapt. Alfred Rhett's Comjjany, 75 men, S. C. R. A., re- 

gg Aoril i6lh -! l'»^ved Capt. Cuthbert's Company. Capt. Hallonquist 

'^ ' I was ordered to report to Gen. Bragg, at Pensacola. Capt. 

[ Rhett remained in command until November. 

1861— Nov Capt. Thos. M. Wagner S. C. R. A. 

lS62— Maj. Alfred Rhett S. C. R. A. 

• QA^ e . ->i \ t'apt. Stei)hen Elliott, of the Beaufort Artillery, iiromoted 
1003 — hept. 7th.. -^ TIT • }. .. , 1 • I 1 r 1 

'^ ( Major, C. b. A., and assigned to command of this post. 

1864— May 24th. . .Capt. John C. Mitchell S. C. R. A. 

tca. t 1 „, ^ S ^^'ij- T. A. Huguenin, S. C. R. A., to Evacuation, lyth 
1004 — July 2ist.. ■{ J , ,or- 

^ -' ■' (1^ ebruary, 1865. 

Col. W. R. Calhoun, Commanding First Regiment South Carolina Regular 
Artillery, was in command of the fort at different times, but owing to the con- 
dition of his health, was much of the time in the city on sick leave. It is not 
possible to give a correct rosier of commanding officers with particular dates of 
service. 

Castle Pinckney. 

1S60 — Dec. 27ih. . .Col. J. J. Petigrew 

1861 — Jail Capt. Baker S. C. R. I. 

1861— Capt. Jos. A. Yates S. C. R. A. 

Capt. H. S. Farley , S. C. R. A. 

Capt. C. E. Chichester Zouave Cadets. 

1S62 — Maj. Ormsby Blanding. S. C. R. A. 

1862— Capt. W. H. Perroneau S. C. R. A. 

1863 — Capt. J. G. King to February, 1865 S. C. R. A. 

In closing this brief and inadequate record, it is proper 
to say, that while in a general way, accurate, as to the pe- 
riod, 1860-65, there is much necessarily omitted for want of 
correct official information ; what is here printed, has been 
obtained from private sources, and with the earnest hope 
that even this mere skeleton record, which omits many im- 
22 



170 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

portant posts, will serve to direct attention to the grand 
story of the wonderful defence of Charleston for four years 
against the persistent and herculean efforts of a government 
of unlimited resources, in men and material, commanding 
the inventive skill and the workshops of the whole civilized 
world. 

PORT AND HARBOR LIGHTS. 

As a subject most interesting in connection with Charles- 
ton's commerce, and about which little is known to the 
general public, I have thought it in order to speak of our 
port and harbor lights, and with a brief reference to the grand 
work of the Light-house Board of to-day, to show the origin 
of lights for maritime purposes soon after the early settle- 
ment of the coimtry, and the vast changes made in this 
department of the public service. 

There is little doubt but that the early colonists recognized 
the necessity for beacons, with which to guide the English 
and Dutch ships, which should make their landfall at night, 
the safe way to their harbors. The earliest records show 
that as far back as 1673 beacons were then lit, with " fier 
balls of pitch and ocum," which were burned in an iron 
basket on the top of these elevations. The first light-house 
built at the public cost in America was on Little Brewster 
Island, Boston harbor, in 171 5, and was supported by light- 
dues of one penny per ton, on all incoming and outgoing 
vessels, except small local vessels. The maritime Colonies 
followed the example of Massachusetts, and when the 
United States, by the Act of August 7th, 1789, accepted 
from the States the title to and joint jurisdiction over the 
light-houses on the coasts, and agreed to maintain them 
thereafter, they were only eight in number between Ports- 
mouth, N. H., and Charleston, S. C, a shore distance of 
about one thousand miles, and comprised the following 
lights, all of which are still in existence, though so greatly 
improved that they are the same only in purpose and 
location : 

Portsmouth (N. H.) Harbor Light ; Boston (Mass.) Har- 



TJic Harbor — Lights. 171 

bor Light ; The Gurnet Light, near Plymouth, Mass. ; Brant 
Point Light, Nantucket, Mass. ; Beaver Tail Light, on 
Conanicut Island, R. L; Sandy Hook Light, entrance to 
New York ; Cape Henlopen, entrance to Delaware Bay ; 
Charleston Main Light, on Morris Island. 

In the thirty years that had elapsed (1820) since the lights 
had come under the control of the Federal government, the 
number had increased from eight to fifty-five, built to meet 
immediate local wants and without reference to any general 
system. 

Between 1820 and 1852, the number increased from fifty- 
fivc to three hundred and twenty-five light-houses, and thirty- 
five light-ships, and numerous other aids to navigation. 
The " fier balls of pitch and ocum " used in the open brazier 
in 1673, were succeeded by tallow candles in 1716, which 
gave place to fish oil, burned in spider lamps with solid 
wick, suspended from the dome of the tower, as late as 1760. 
This was succeeded in 181 2, by sperm oil burned in a sort 
of argand lamp, in " Winslow's patent magnifying and re- 
flecting lanterns," This illuminant was continued until the 
beginning of the latter half of the present century, when 
the reflector system, much as it was improved, was itself 
superseded by the Fresnel lenticular apparatus now in use. 
The highest scientific authority has been used in obtaining 
information as to illuminants. Analyses, quantitative and 
qualitative, chemical, photometric, etc., of sperm, whale, 
shark, seal, colza, olive, lard and mineral oils, have been 
made. 

In turn, " colza " and " lard " oils were used, but for some 
years the Light-house Board, after much experimentation 
in its own laboratory and workshops, succeeded in perfect- 
ing a mineral oil, and a lamp capable of consuming all the 
carbon set free, and this has been introduced throughout 
the Light-house establishment, except in seventy-three lights 
of the highest powers, in which there are still special reasons 
for using lard oil as an illuminant. 

The cost of mineral oil is about fourteen cents a gallon ; 
lard oil seventy-five cents a gallon. The cost of oil for the 



i^y^ 



172 The Centennial of Ineorporation. 

Light-house establishment in 1871, was $115,197.50; in 
1881, $32,889 ; this great saving is traceable to the use of 
mineral oil. 

The Board has watched the experiments made in other 
countries with the electric light as a light-house illuminant, 
and while it does not consider that this light can be seen 
farther than its own best lights, which are seen, located and 
identified, as far as the curvature of the earth will allow, still 
for want of an apparatus no electric light has as yet been 
placed in competition with the oil lights in use. 

The records of the Light-house Board show that Morris 
Island on which the Charleston main light, and the Morris 
Island beacons are located, was formerly divided into three 
islands, the Southerly one called Middle Bay Island, the 
central portion Morrison's Island, and the part nearest 
Charleston Cummings' Point, each of these islands being 
separated by a creek or inlet which is now filled up ; and 
that by an Act of the Legislature of South Carolina passed 
January 20th, 1790, Middle Bay Island was ceded to the 
United States for light-house purposes. 

At the date of this Act of cession there was a light-house 
on the land ceded, the date of the establishment of that light 
being 1767, whether it antidated this there is no means of 
knowing, but most probably it had at an early date been 
the site of a beacon. 

In the office of the Light-house Department in this city 
are two most interesting relics taken from the corner-stone 
of the old Colonial Light-house, erected on what was then 
called " Middle Bay Island," now a part of Morris Island — 
one is a tracing on a plate of lead about twelve inches 
square, showing the outline of a small octagonal tower, evi- 
dently arranged for the crude illuminants of that period ; 
the other is a copper plate of similar size, upon which an 
inscription is engraved. As objects of curiosity, I have had 
them reproduced \w facsimile and presented herewith. 

In 1837, the United States government established a 
range light in connection with the old light, and to the 
Eastward and Southward of it, to guide through the ship 



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The Harbor — Lights. 173 

channel. These lights were destroyed during the war be- 
tween the States, and when they came to be re-established 
it was found that the ship channel had changed, and they 
were therefore placed at localities further to the South and 
West, to guide through the new channel. 

The Light-house Board was organized in 1852, and the 
following statement shows the character of the Charleston 
harbor lights in existence at that time, and the improve- 
ments that have been made in them since : 



1852. 1883. 

Station. Location. Character of Illu- Character of Illu- 

minating Apparatus, minating Apparatus. 

f Rebuilt in 1857 ; fiir- 
I nislied with 2cl order of 

Charleston Morris Island. ..\ ^l '^'PP'^. f "^ni^hed J Fresnel Lens Rebuilt 

' vith 2i-inch reflectors. | 1876, and furnished 
I with ist order Fresnel 
[Lens. 

Charleston Beacon Morris Island. . . ■{ O"*' '"'"Jlfflec'to^r ^ "'"'''' J D^foyed 1861 . 

Morris Island Beacon Morris Island. . . \ ^"''' .'^37- i lamp, j Reb'lt 1870 and 1872 ; 

( each i6-inch reflectors. \ 5th order v resnel Lens. 

f f Rebuilt 1872. Front 

Sullivan's Island Beacon . . . .Sullivan's Island ( ^^'\ ^^''\ = !'-*'"?«' Light 6th order Fres- 

1 each i6-inch reflectors, j nel Lens ; Rear Light 
t [4th order Fresnel Lens. 

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter Established 1855 5th order Fresnel Lens. 

Castle Pinckney Castle Pinckney . . Established 1855 sth order Fresnel Lens. 

«--0' Beacon Battery ) Established ,857. ) ^'^Distn JnTeTl^^"" ' 



Few of our citizens fully realize the magnitude of the 
work done in the erection of the new " Charleston Main 
Light-house " and its equipment. It is still situated on Mor- 
ris Island, and the accompanying description will be read with 
interest and will elicit a general appreciation from every 
citizen. 

The height of the light above sea level is one hundred 
and fifty-eight feet, and the height of the structure from its 
base to the centre of the lantern is one hundred and fifty 
feet, the light being visible eighteen and three-quarters 
nautical miles. 

The tower is a brick structure thirty-three feet in diameter 
at the base, and sixteen feet eight inches in diameter at the 
neck below the cornice, being conical in shape, and is pro- 



174 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

vided with an iron staircase of nine flights. The lantern, 
parapet gallery, and its supporting brackets are all of iron. 

The tower rests on a foundation of two hundred and sixty- 
four piles, occupying a circle having a radius of twenty-two 
feet. Resting on the heads of these piles are two sets of 
capping pieces, forming a timber grillage eighteen inches in 
thickness. The spaces between the piles and the open 
spaces in the grillage are filled with concrete to the level of 
the upper surface. Upon the top of this is built a founda- 
tion of rubble masonry five feet six inches in thickness, 
which carries the brick work of the tower. The estimated 
weight of the superstructure is three thousand two hundred 
tons, and the weight sustained by each pile a little over 
twelve tons. 

The approximate cost of the entire work was $140,000.00 
and of its outfit $10,000.00. 

JETTIES. 

The first jetties constructed in our harbor, were put down 
to rescue Sullivan's Island from then threatened destruction. 
As the report of Capt. A. H. Bowman, United States Corps 
of Engineers, contains interesting information, gathered from 
the earliest data, I quote from it to show the great changes 
which have taken place on that island in the last hundred 
years. It seems that soon after the foundation of Fort 
Sumter was begun, there were rapid changes noted in the 
shore line of Sullivan's Island — the waters having reached 
the wall of Fort Moultrie. In an elaborate and valuable 
report, under date of January, 1842, to ascertain the real 
cause of these changes, from which I make some extracts, 
Capt. Bowman says : 

"The preliminary survey of Drunken Dick Shoal being 
completed, I have the honor to submit herewith, for the 
consideration of the department, plans and estimates of the 
proposed dike. The objects to be attained are : First, ad- 
ditional security to Sullivan's Island and the site of Fort 



Tlie Harbor — Jetties. 175 

Moultrie ; Second, protection to the harbor of Charleston 
from the effects of Northeast j^ales. 

Before proceeding with details of the plans submitted, it 
is proper to enquire into the causes which have been for a 
number of years gradually destroying Sullivan's Island. 

The oldest map of this harbor to which I have had access, 
is that of Col. Steadman, Adjutant-General of the English 
Army, made in 1776. 

According to this authority, the Southwest point of 
Sullivan's Island then extended much farther than it now 
does, and terminated in a marsh. This fact, which is im- 
portant as indicating that during the period referred to, the 
shore was stationary, is confirmed by Col. Moultrie, who in 
his report of the defence of Fort Sullivan, speaks of a marsh 
in the midst of the fort. At a more recent period cypress 
stumps were standing on the beach in front of the fort ; and 
as this tree generally grows in marshy soil, it would indicate 
that the marsh extended beyond the limits of the old fort, 
which was far in advance of the present one. 

The first well authenticated account, which I have been 
able to find, of the encroachment of the sea upon Sullivan's 
Island, is that of Van Hoff. 

Upon the authority of this writer, it appears, that during 
the three years ending 1786, the sea carried away one quar- 
ter of a mile of the beach. 

From that time forward, till 1830, when it reached and 
destroyed a portion of the walls of the present fort, its pro- 
gress was more or less rapid in proportion as the storms by 
which its destruction was chiefly effected, were more or less 
severe. 

The works commenced during the year last mentioned 
for the protection of the site of Fort Moultrie, seem to have 
arrested the advance of the sea and have since caused an in- 
crease of the beach. 

First a comparison of the outline of the beach in 1830 
with the map of Col. Steadman (A. D. 1776) already referred 
to, comprising a period of fifty-three years immediately 
preceding the commencement of Fort Sumter, will exhibit 



1/6 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

a loss of several hundred yards in breadth. This period 
includes the three years mentioned by Van Hoff, when a 
quarter of a mile was carried away. It was also prior to the 
commencement of Fort Sumter that the first two forts 
erected on this point were carried away, together with that 
part of the island on which they stood. 

It has already been mentioned, that it is during flood 
tide with the wind on shore, that most injury is done to the 
beach ; it is therefore to the ocean, and not to the harbor, 
we are to look for the source of mischief. 

In general the stability of a particular point on the sea 
shore, depends more upon the contour of coast and the di- 
rection of the prevailing winds and currents, than upon the 
nature of the materials of which the coast is composed. In 
illustration of this truth, innumerable instances might be 
cited ; it will be sufficient for our purpose to refer to the 
Eastern coast of England and Scotland, which, although 
composed of high cliffs of chalk, oolite, magnesian limestone 
and even granite, have for hundreds of years been wasting 
away under the influence of the waves and currents from the 
German ocean ; while many points on the same coast com- 
posed of light sand and rounded chalk flints, by their more 
favorable configuration and position with relation to the 
prevailing winds and tides, have remained permanent or 
even increased. 

The prevailing winds here are from Northeast, and South- 
west. A diary of the weather kept at the United States 
Hospital at this port, since 1829 (omitting 1836-37-38 and 
39), shows that during 2,555 clays the winds prevailed from 
the Southwest, and Northeast 1,645 days; that from South- 
west exceeding the Northeast twenty-five days. The wind 
from the Northeast acting against the gulf stream causes a 
high rise in the tides, and is always accompanied by a heavy 
sea, and a Southwest current. 

The South and Southwest winds which frequently blow 
as violently as those from Northeast, throw in a heavy sea 
on the beach, at the point where the greatest injury has 
been done. 



TJic Harbor — Jetties. 177 

Assuming then, that the direction of the prevailing winds 
and currents, and the contour of the coasts (all other things 
being equal), determine their stability; I proceed next to 
the consideration of the best means of counteracting the in- 
fluence of those winds and currents which are believed to 
have caused the destruction of a portion of this island. 

Two plans have been tried in the works already con- 
structed for the protection of the site of Fort Moultrie with 
very unequal success. The first consisted in reveting the 
shore, along the line of medium tide, with a crib-work of 
palmetto logs filled with granite. This work was found 
efficient in preventing the effects of the waves in the region 
of high water-mark, but was manifestly liable to be itself de- 
stroyed so soon as the currents should begin to encroach 
upon the beach below the level of the foundation upon 
which it stood. 

The second plan consisted in the construction of grillages 
loaded with rough granite, in a direction perpendicular to 
the shore, and extending to deep water; the results pro- 
duced by these latter works, have been quite equal to the 
expectation formed of them ; whatsoever sand was detached 
from the beach about high water-mark or was borne by the 
current along the line of the shore, was arrested by the 
grillage which it first encountered. A proof is here fur- 
nished of the assertion above made, that the flood tide is 
the great moving power of the sand. 

The grillage nearest the sea, which of course first meets 
the flood tide, has caused such an accumulation of sand as 
to remove the line of high tide more than one hundred 
yards farther from the fort than it was before the grillage 
was constructed ; while that which lies nearest to Hog Isl- 
and Channel, and should, therefore, first receive and arrest 
all sand supposed to be detached by that current from 
the shore, has scarcely accumulated any during the two 
years that have elapsed since its location." 

It appears from this information : first, that Sullivan's 
Island may be stated to have washed and been reduced fully 
23 



178 TJic Coitcnnial of Incorporation. 

a third of a mile in its breadth, since the pahnetto log (1776) 
fort was built; second, that the stone jetties of Capt. Bow- 
man have not only arrested the further destruction of the 
island, but that there had been a gain of three to five hun- 
dred feet by the construction of the jetty in front of Fort 
Moultrie. The estimated cost of this splendid engineering 
work is stated in these papers at $178,201.18, and I should 
mention that the Secretary of War kindly enclosed elabo- 
rate drawings of Bowman's Jetty of date 1845-1850 and 
1857, which attention I desire to acknowledge, although 
unable to reproduce them here. 

The following extracts from Gen. Gilmore's of^cial reports 
will prove interesting and instructive : 

" In 1878 the outer end of the Bowman Jetty was lower- 
ed to a level of two feet above mean low water for an ad- 
ditional thirty feet." * *' * " The results showed quite 
conclusively, that the shortening of the Bowman Jetty had 
not produced a wider channel at that point, but that the 
West end of Drunken Dick shoal approached Sullivan's Isl- 
and shore and the jetty, as fast as the latter was reduced in 
length, neither was the channel deepened by the shortcom- 
ing of the jetty ; on the contrary, the greatest depths on the 
smallest cross-section were less than existed on the smallest 
cross-section four or five years before." 

Subsequent to these experiments at Bowman Jetty, the 
beach of Sullivan's Island washed away to some extent, de- 
stroying a considerable amount of property. 

Having stated the great changes that have taken place 
on Sullivan's Island, I have high authority for the state- 
ment that Morris Island opposite, has washed to an equal 
if not greater extent during the same period. What effect 
this widening of the mouth of the harbor may have had on 
the changing of channels, or the shoaling between Fort 
Sumter and James Island, now so plainly visible, and which 
it is thought will, in a few years, enable one to walk dry be- 
tween these two points, I am not able to say, but this fact 
is established, that from natural causes, the shores of the 
islands, in the lower harbor, have receded nearly three- 



TJie Harbor — Jetties. \jg 

quarters of a mile, and there are numerous notable changes 
in the harbor. "The bar is essentially a drift and wave 
bar, produced in part by the upheaving action of the waves 
when they approach the shore, and are converted by break- 
ing, into waves of translation, and in part by drift material, 
carried along the coast by surf currents, especially by those 
produced by Northeast storms. The peculiar location of 
the bar, largely to the Southward of the gorge of the har- 
bor, and the conditions under which a very large proportion 
of the ebb-flow is diverted from its most direct path, and 
forced to skirt the main coast for several miles before it can 
find a passage to the sea, indicate the controlling power of 
these storms. The material composing the surface of the 
bar closely resembles that usually found on the sea shore, 
between high and low water, in that section of the country, 
being shells and fragments of shells, or siliceous sand or a 
mixture of them all; it is easily thrown in suspension by 
waves, and is moved by a moderate current." 

Having the highest authority for the statement, that the 
entrance to our harbor has been widened, at least three- 
quarters of a mile, in the last one hundred and seven years, 
by the washing of the shores of Sullivan's and Morris Island ; 
knowing also that the channels leading over the bar have 
shifted during the same period considerably to the South- 
ward by the action of the ocean currents and the washing 
of the island shores; finding in the early records mention 
of greater depths of water on our bar than we in the pres- 
ent century have known, I think it is a fair conclusion that 
the shoaling on the bar, in greater or less degree, is attribu- 
table to the broadening of the harbor opening, 

It will be most interesting to have these facts in mind in con- 
sidering the extensive works now going forward for the deep- 
ening of the entrance to our harbor, which are described by 
the distinguished projector. Gen. Q. A. Gilmore, U. S. Corps 
of Engineers, as " low or submerged jetties," which are not to 
obstruct too much the flow of the surface currents by which 
the harbor is supplied with tide water. The scouring effect of 
the ebb tide, and only the ebb tide scouring, is greatest, if not 



i8o TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

altogether, during the last three hours of its prevalence; 
and the submerged jetties will confine this effect to the 
space between them. Quoting from the official reports: 

" It is proposed to construct two jetties, one springing 
from Morris Island and the other from Sullivan's Island, con- 
verging towards each other in such manner that the outer 
ends on the crest of the bar shall be one-half to five-eighths 
of a mile apart. The outer ends of the two jetties will rest 
respectively upon the shoals lying to the Northward and 
Southward of what is known as the North channel, that 
being the middle channel of the North group of three chan- 
nels, and having its line of deepest water located more nearly 
than either of the others upon the prolongation of the axis of 
deep water-flow tJirough the gorge of the harbor, between Cum- 
7nings Point and Fort Moultrie^ 

It is of interest to add from the official reports, that the 
North Jetty starts from a point on Sullivan's Island, eighteen 
hundred feet East of the Bowman Jetty. The half next the 
shore is curved to a radius of about one and a half miles, 
the outer half being very nearly a straight line. The total 
length is fourteen thousand three hundred and sixty-one 
feet, and its general direction is Southeast. 

The South Jetty, having a total length of fourteen thous- 
and one hundred and nine feet, starts from Morris Island, at 
a point six hundred and fifty yards from Cummings' Point, 
its general direction being East. The shore end is curved 
to a radius of about three miles for a little more than one- 
half its entire length, while the half next the sea is nearly 
straight. 

It is regarded as certain that these stone jetties, if kept 
at proper heights, " will produce an ebb-flow through the 
gap able to maintain a deep channel through the bar." 

It will be perceived from the statements relative to the 
changes in the shore lines and channels from natural causes, 
given above, that the location of the jetties is in the direc- 
tion, not only of contracting the mouth of the harbor, but 
is also in a measure the rectification of early natural boun- 
daries. Their locations have been reached by the closest 



The Harbor — Jetties. i8i 

observation of the currents on the ebb and flow of the tide, 
and by scientific calculation, to so place them as to prolong 
the axis of deep water existing between Forts Moultrie and 
Sumter, Eastwardly to the ocean. 

In brief, the scheme of the jetties is to direct the ebb- 
flow in the prolongation of the deep water between these 
two points. Kecent soundings show that this deep water 
area extends Eastwardly in a long pocket into the channel 
between the jetties, and other changes are noted here, and 
are ascribed to the influence of the works thus far con- 
structed. It is not my purpose to do more than refer in a 
brief way to this great project which, if provided for b)' 
suitable annual money appropriations, must make the 
entrance of our harbor as attractive as any on the coast. 

This grand scheme is of the deepest consequence to 
Charleston, and it is earnestly hoped that plans so full of 
promise to a large section of the Union contiguous to our 
port may have ample support from Congress, and thus en- 
sure its early and successful completion. 

From the latest official records of Captain Bailey, United 
States Corps of Engineers, in charge of the harbor improve- 
ments, courteously placed at my disposal, I learn that an 
accurate survey of the outer harbor has been made, includ- 
ing the shore lines of Morris and Sullivan's Islands — over 
forty thousand soundings having been taken, covering 
twenty-four miles of hydrography, and ensuring for the first 
time an accurate map for use in computing changes and 
studying the effects of the jetties. 

A recent survey of Hog Island Channel compared with 
the Bache Map of 1823-5, the coast survey of 1849-64, and 
the United States Engineer Map of 1881, show the cutting" 
away near the point of Hog Island of three hundred and 
fifty feet in this period. Since 1881 the wear has been 
thirty-five to forty feet. Schulte's Folly Island shows a 
diminution on the North side and on the South side of 
two hundred feet in this period, while the East and West 
ends have enlarged one hundred and fifty feet. 

The channel widths off the point of Hog Island, measured 



1 82 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

between high water, show a gain of five hundred anel sixty 
feet in the last tiventy years, and it is within this period 
that the long established line for the protection of the city 
water front has been altered and extended Eastward to 
promote private ends, followed by wharf extensions, which 
have served as jetties to turn the natural currents from 
their course along the city front through Hog Island Chan- 
nel. As a sequence, the engineer in charge thinks shoaling 
may result in the channel in front of the city wharves, and 
render protective work necessary. 

To the same causes is properly attributable the marked 
changes on the Mount Pleasant shore, which requires a 
system of jetties to prevent its washing. 

PUMPKIN HILL CHANNEL. 

"Since 1864 the West end of this channel has moved 
South eight hundred feet, while the Eastern end, in the 
vicinity of the outer 18-foot curve, is sixteen hundred feet 
further South. 

The point of the shoal just North of the East entrance 
to the channel has moved Southwest eight hundred feet, 
the shoal itself passing South six hundred feet and West 
three hundred feet. The 15-foot curve in this vicinity shows 
a Westerly movement of one thousand feet, and a 9-foot 
shoal South of this entrance has disappeared. The outer 
18-foot curve of the bar shows an irregular movement West 
of six hundred feet; that of the 15-foot curve amounts to 
twenty-four hundred feet. The distance over the bar be- 
tween the 15-foot curves was forty-four hundred feet in 1864; 
at present it is twenty-four hundred feet. The shoalest 
sounding at mean low water was, in 1864, 12.5 feet; now it 
is 12.3 feet." 

HARBOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR CHARLESTON. 

I do not know how far the very conservative views of the 
public men of our State were enforced against receiving 
money from the Federal Union for internal improvements 



The FI arbor — Appropriations. i8 



in the earlier years of the century, but they did consent to 
receive large sums of money, and used it for bank capital, 
for the State from that source less than half a century ago. 
From the information now available to me, I find that 
the following amounts have been appropriated for the im- 
provement of the harbor, subsequent to the outlays for the 
jetties on Sullivan's Island, already referred to, which weie 
primarily for military purposes, in the preservation of the 
site of Fort Moultrie : 

1852 — 30th August $50,000.00 

1S71 — 3cl March 13,000.00 

1S72 — lOth June 38,700.00 

1873 — 3d March 5,000.00 

1874 — 23d June iS,ooo.oo 

1S75 — 3d March 10,000.00 

1876 — 14th August 10,000.00 

$94,700.00 

"The first appropriation of 1852 was applied to improv- 
ing the Beach Channel, by dredging, but no substantial re- 
sults were obtained. The appropriations from 1871-76 were 
expended, for the greater part, in taking up at various points 
of the inner and outer harbor the wrecks of fourteen iron- 
clads and wooden vessels sunk during the civil war, and 
their removal was of benefit to commerce." 

In 1878 the jetties were projected, for increasing the 
depth of water across the bar to twenty-one feet, the greatest 
depth then being eleven and one-half feet, and for this 
purpose the following appropriations have been made by 
Congress : 

1878 — i8th June $200,000.00 

1879 — 3d March 200,000.00 

1880 — 14th June 170,000.00 

1881 — 3d March 175,000.00 

1882 — 2d August 300,000.00 

$1,045,000.00 

For small jetty work on Sullivan's Island $5,000 was 
specially appropriated on 14th June, 1880. These sums 
exhibit all the outlays at Charleston harbor, as far as I can 
ascertain, and will be convenient for reference hereafter. 



184 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

NOTED EVENTS IN THE CENTURY. 

1791. Washington's Visit. — The most prominent social 
event in the annals of Charleston is the visit of President 
Washington on 2d May, 1791. From an old newspaper 
cutting I am able to give the proceedings of the City Coun- 
cil in anticipation of his coming: 

" Wednesday, 27th April, 1791. — The Hon. Arnoldus Vandeihorst, In- 
tendant ; Col. Mitchell, Mr. Morris, Mr. Corbett, Dr. Harris and Mr. Mar- 
shall, Committee to make the necessary arrangements for the reception and 
entertainment of George Washington, Esq., President of the United States, 
on his arrival in the City of Charleston, reported, and the said report being 
read, Ordered, That the said report be taken into consideration imme- 
diately, and the same being again read, was agreed to, as follows, viz : The 
Intendant and Committee appointed to make the necessary arrangements 
for the reception and entertainment of George Washington, Esq., Presi- 
dent of the United States, on his arrival in Charleston, recommend that the 
house of Thos. Heyward, Esq., in Church Street, at present in the occupa- 
tion of Mrs. Rebecca Jamieson, be taken for the use of the President during 
his residence in this city, together with the furniture, for which the sum of ;^6o 
be paid, it being the lowest rate at which the said house can be procured. 
They recommend Mrs. Frances Ramadge for House-keeper, and Margaret 
Daniel, with other necessary servants for the house, to be paid by the Corpora- 
tion. Major Peter Bocquet having offered his Barge and Mr. Paul Pritchard 
agrees to lengthen and put it in thorough repair, gratis, for the purpose of con- 
veying the President of the United States from Haddrel's Point or Hobcau 
Ferry to the city. Capt. Cochran and twelve other masters of American vessels, 
viz : Jacob Milligan, Geo. Cross, Charles Crawley, John Connely, Henry Lau- 
rence, Thos. Kean, Jeremh. Dickenson, Luke Swain, Thos. Blundel, Wm. 
Conyers, James Rea, John Drinker, to be handsomely dressed at their own 
expense, will serve as a volunteer crew. 

The Committee advise that their offers be accepted, and that the Recorder in 
his Robes be directed to attend and present the Barge in the name of the Cor- 
poration, to the President at Haddrel's Point, for his accommodation and con- 
veyance to the city ; they also advise that the Custom House Barge and the 
Fort boat be procured to assist in bringing over any gentlemen who may 
accompany the President, and that a temporary pair of stairs be placed at such 
wharf as may be appointed for his landing. 

The Intendant and Committee recommend that a Dinner be given to the 
President, and such other gentlemen as the Council shall think proper to invite. 
Mr. Williams of the Coffee House, having ma'de proposals to provide a good 
Dinner, for six shillings for each person, with a handsome Desert ; the best 
Madeira wine for 5s. per bottle, and other Liquors as usual, but that he cannot 
find Tables, Seats and .Sconces or Candlesticks; it is recommended that his 



Noted Events — Washiiigtoiis J^isit. 185 

proposals Ijc accepted, and tliat the Excliange lie suitably fitted up\\ith Tables, 
Chairs, Benches, Sconces and ^Vwnings. 

It is further recommended that the City Hall be put into proper order, for 
the purpose of giving a Ball to the President, and the Ladies of the city, with 
such gentlemen as the Council shall think proper to invite, and that a genteel 
Supper be provided on the occasion. 

The Intendant and Committee further recommend, that a proper stock of 
liquors, groceries, and provisions, be laid in for the use of the President and 
his suite, while in the city, and that his horses be properly provided with 
stables, hay, corn and oats. 

They further recommend, that the Bells of St. Michael's Church be put in 
repair, and proper persons employed for the purpose of ringing a Peal, on the 
approaching joyous occasion, to be paid by the Corporation. 

As amark of distinction to the Intendant and Wardens, it is recommended that 
handsome black varnished Wands three-quarters of an inch diameter, and si.x 
feet long, be provided. The Intendant's Wand to have a gold head, anJ the 
Wardens silver heads, with the cypher C. C. L. on each to be used on this and 
other public occasions.* 

Lastly, they recommend, that the expenses which may i)c incuned in carry- 
ing the foregoing or any other necessary arrangements into execution, may be 
defrayed by the Corporation." 

The President had journeyed by hind, stoppin<j^ at George- 
town, S. C, and arrived opposite the city at what is now 
Mt. Pleasant, on the day named. A committee consisting 
of the Hon. John Bee Hohnes, Recorder, in his official 
robes, General C. C. Pinckney, and Edward Rutledge, Esq., 
had crossed the river to meet him, and accompanied him in 
a barge rowed by the twelve American captains of vessels 
then in port, above named, and commanded by Captain 
Cochran. A flotilla of boats of all sizes and kinds, filled 
with ladies and gentlemen, and two bands of music, attended 
him over. As he approached the town a salute of artillery 
was fired. 



'' Monday, 2d May, lyyi. — The jireparations in the city were begun by the 
assembling of the City Council. Present: His Honor, the Intendant, Mr. 
Morris, Col. Mitchell, Mr. Corbett, Mr. Beckman, Capt. North, Mr. Cripps, Mr. 
Lee, Mr. Cole, Mr. Brownlee, Dr. Poyas, Dr. Harris, Mr. Robertson. 

The Council being met, proceeded with their officers to Prioleau's Wharff 
the place appointed for the landing of the President of the United States ; 
where, after staying some time, the President landed from on board of the city 



* These Wands remained in use up to 1861. t Foot of Queen Street. 

24 



1 86 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

barge, with the Recorder in his Robes, who had been previously sent to 
Haddrel's Point to receive him there and to offer him the use of the barge. 
On his landing, the President was met by Gov. Charles Pinckney, Lieut. -Gov. 
Isaac Holmes, Intendant Vanderhorst, the gentlemen of the City Council and 
the State Society of the Cincinnati. His Honor, the Intendant, addressed him 
as follows : 

The Intendant and Wardens beg leave, sir, to welcome you to this city. It 
will be their care to make your stay agreeable — they have provided accommo- 
dations for yourself and suite, to which they will be happy to conduct you. 

The President replied that he was ready to attend them, and would follow. 
The Corporation then returned to the Exchange in the following order: 

City Sheriff (with mace). 

M e s s e n g er and Marshal. 

Treasurer and Clerk. 

Recorder. 

Wardens with their Wands (two and two). 

The Intendant. 

President and Suite. 

After remaining some time at the Exchange, the Corporation and their offi- 
cers were individually introduced to the President, and the order of procession 
being reversed, they proceeded on to Major Heyward's house, in Church Street, 
which had been previously hired from Mrs. Jamieson, for his reception, from 
which the City Council retired to the Council Chamber, where an address to 
the President from the Corporation, which had been previously prepared, was 
read and agreed to 

Ordered, That the Recorder do wait on the President of the United States, 
to know when he would be pleased to receive the Corporation, with their ad- 
dress. 

The Recorder being returned, informed the Council that the President would 
receive the City address to-morrow afternoon, at 3 o'clock." 

" Tuesday, 3d May, 1791. — The Council met according to adjournment, and 
proceeded to the President's house, in the same order they had done before. 
His Honor the Intendant then presented the address to the President, which is 
in the words following, viz: 

To the President of the United States : 

Sir — The Intendant and Wardens, representing the citizens of Charleston, 
find themselves particularly gratified by your arrival in the Metropolis of the 
State. It is an event, the expectation of which they have for some time with 
great pleasure indulged. When in the person of the Supreme Magistrate of the 
United States, they recognize the Father of the People, and the defender of the 
liberties of America, they feel a particular satisfaction in declaring their firm 
persuasion that they speak the language of their constituents, in asserting, that 
no body of men throughout this extensive continent can exceed them in attach- 
ment to his public character, or in revering his private virtues. And they do 



Noted Events — WasJiington s Visit. 187 

not hesitate in anticipating those Ijlessings which must uitimaiely be diffused 
amongst the inhabitants of these States from his exertions for their general wel- 
fare, aided by those in whom they have also vested a share of their confidence. 

Go on, sir, as you have done. Continue to possess as well as deserve the 
love and esteem of all your fellow-citizens : while millions in other parts of the 
globe, though strangers to your person, shall venerate your name. May you 
long be spared to receive those marks of respect which you so entirely merit 
from a gratehil people ; and may all who live under your auspices continue to 
experience that freedom and happiness, which is so universally acknowledged 
to have proceeded from your wide, judicious and prudent administration. 

ARNOLUUS VANDERHORST, Intendant. 

To which the President returned the following answer: 
To the Intendant and Wardens, representatives of the citizens of Charleston : 

Gentlemen — The gratification you are pleased to express at my arrival in 
your Metropolis, is replied to with sincerity, in a grateful acknowledgment of 
the pleasing sensations which your affectionate urbanity has excited. 

Highly sensible of your attachment and favorable opinions, I entreat you to 
be persuaded of the lasting gratitude which they impress, and of the cordial re- 
gard with which they are returned. 

It is the peculiar boast of our country that her happiness is alone dependent 
on the collective wisdom and virtue of her citizens, and rests not on the exer- 
tions of any individual. Whilst a just sense is entertained of their natural and 
political advantages, we cannot fail to improve them, and with the progress of 
our national importance, to combine the freedom and felicity of individuals. I 
shall be particularly gratified in observing the happy influence of public meas- 
ures on the prosperity of your city, which is so much entitled to the regard and 
esteem of the American Union. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

And then the Council retired to the Council Chamber, and adjourned sin<' die." 

As previously arranged by the Charleston Chamber of 
Commerce, the following address of the merchants of 
Charleston was presented on Wednesday, 3d May: 

To the President of the United States : 

Sir — The Merchants of Charleston, entertaining a just sense of the high 
Honor conferred on the City by your Presence, take the earliest opportunity of 
congratulating you on your arrival. 

The obligations which are due to you by every Mendier of the Republic, are 
acknowledged by all ; — to enter into a detail of them, would be to produce the 
history of your life, and to repeat what is re-echoed from one end of the Conti- 
nent to the other. Were it possible, .Sir, for your Fellow-Citizens to omit 
doing Justice to your Merits, the Testimony of other Nations would evince 
their neglect, or ingratitude ; — the whule world concurring in the same opinion 
of you. 

Convinced as we are of your constant Solicitude for the general Welfare; — 
it must afiV)rd you particular Satisfaction to find the progressive Effects of the 



1 88 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

Federal Government in this State ; and that the Inhabitants are fast emerging 
from the heavy Calamities, to which they were subjected by the late War. 

Sensible of the numerous Blessings our Country has derived from your Wise 
and judicious Administration, we feel animated with the most lively Sentiments 
of Gratitude towards you : Suffer us then, on the present Occasion, to represent 
to you the affectionate Sensibility with which we are impressed, by assuring 
you that we yield to none in sincere Respect and attachment to your Person ; — 
and, we earnestly implore the Almighty Father of the Universe, long to pre- 
serve a life, so valuable and dear to the People over whom you preside. 

In behalf of the Merchants of Charleston. 

EDWARD DARRELL, C/iairman. 

Charleston, 3d May, 1791. 

7^1? the Merchants of Charleston: 

Gentlemen — Your congratulations on my arrival in South Carolina, enhanced 
by the affectionate manner in which they are offered, are received with the 
most grateful sensibility. 

Flattered by the favoi-able sentiments you express of my endeavors to be use- 
ful to our country, I desire to assure you of my constant solicitude for its wel- 
fare and of my particular satisfaction in observing the advantages which accrue 
to the highly deserving citizens of this State from the operations of the general 
government. 

I am not less iiYdebted to your expressions of personal attachment and 
respect — they receive my best thanks, and induce my most sincere wishes for 
your professional prosperity and your individual happiness. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

The President spent a week in Charleston, and there was 
a series of balls, dinners, breakfasts and other entertain- 
ments, and every attention that hospitality, public and 
private, could devise was shown him. One of the hand- 
somest entertainments given in his honor was a splendid 
concert and ball at the Exch^inge, on which occasion the 
ladies wore bandeaus of white ribbon interwoven in their 
hair, with Washington's portrait and the words "long live 
the President " painted on them. The late Mr. Charles 
Phraser says: " Every hand that could hold a pencil, profes- 
sional or amateur, was enlisted to furnish them." 

"Saturday, ylh May, 1791. — Present — His Honor the Inlcndant, Colonel 
Mitchell, Mr. Morris, Mr. Corbett, Mr. Beckman, Doct. Harris, Captain North, 
Mr. Cripps, Doct. Poyas, Mr. Lee, Mr. Robertson, Mr. Cole, Mr. Brownlee. 

Read the Journals of the 27tli ulto. and of tlie 2d and 3d insts. 

On motion. 

Resolved iinaniinously. That his Honor tlic Intendant, in behalf of the City 



Noted Events — Wasliingtoii s Visit. 1S9 

Council and their constituents, be desired to request of Geo. Washington, Esq., 
President of the United States, that he will be pleased, when it is convenient 
to him, to permit his portrait to be taken by Colonel Trumbull, in order that 
it may be placed in the City Hall, as the most lastinp; testimony of their attach- 
ment to his person, to commemorate his arrival in the metropolis of this .'"late, 
and to hand down to posterity the remeniljrance of the man to whom they are 
so much indebted for the blessings of peace, lil)crty and independence. 

And then the Council adjourned till to-morrow morning, half-past 9 o'clock, 
to meet at the Intendant's house." 

This valuable portrait is still preserved in the Council 
Chamber. 

At a meeting of the Vestry and Church-wardens of St. 
Philip's Church, 3d May, 1791, 

'^Resolved, That the President of the United States be invited to service in 
St. Philip's Church, and the Church-wardens do inform him that a pew is ready 
for his accommodation on -Sunday next, or on any other day that he may think 
proper." 

"Sunday, 8th May, 1791. — The Council met at the Honorable the Intend- 
ant's house, agreeable to adjournment, and proceede<l from thence to the 
President's, from whence they went in their usual order of procession, and 
accompanied the President to St. Philip's Church. After divine service, they 
returned in the same order. 

And then the Council adjourned till half-past 2 o'clock this afternoon. 

Half-past 2 o'clock P. M. — The Council met agreeably to adjournment, and 
accompanied the President to St. Michael's Church. After divine service, they 
proceeded to the Honorable General Moultrie's, where the Council adjourned 
till 5 o'clock to-morrow morning, to meet at Boundary Street. 

Boundary Street, Monday, gth May, lyqr. — The Council met according 
to adjournment. 

The President, who set out from the city for Savannah, in Georgia, escorted 
by a number of gentlemen, soon came up, where the President was addressed 
by his Honor the Intendent, as follows : 

Sir — The Intendant and Wardens, in behalf of themselves and their con- 
stituents, beg leave to offer you their unfeigned thanks for the visit with which 
you have honored this city, and they are hopeful it will not jjc the last. They 
sincerely wish you a pleasant tour and happy return to your mansion ; and may 
health, that grateful of all temporal blessings, attend you. 

To which the President was pleased to reply : 

Sir — I beg you will accept and offer my best thanks to the Corporation and 
the citizens of Charleston for their very polite attentions to me. Should it ever 



IQO The Centennial of htcorporcition. 

Ije in my power, be assured it will give me pleasure to visit tliis very respect- 
able city. 

The President then took his leave of the Corporation. 

His Honor the Intendant informed the Council that he had a]5plied to the 
President to request that he would be pleased to sit for his picture, to which he 
readily assented ; in consequence of which he had written to Colonel Trumbull, 
the artist, on the subject. 

And then the Council adjourned sine di''." 

1792. Citizen Genet.^Ih marked contrast with the 
formal and distinguished reception and entertainment of 
the President a short year previously, is the arrival of Citi- 
zen Genet from France and his stay in our city. 

The French Revolution, of course, produced great excite- 
ment among the French element in Charleston, augmented 
by the open sympathy of the general community, who re- 
membered the alliance of France in the war for indepen- 
dence. The tri-colored cockade was among very many a 
badge of honor, and "Ca'ira" and the " Marseillaise " hymn 
the most popular airs ; " Vive la Republique Francaise " the 
universal shout, and the flags of France and the United 
States, waved together on all public occasions. 

In the midst of this excited condition of affairs " Citoyen 
Genet," as he was called, landed in Charleston on the 9th 
April, en route for Philadelphia, as the French Minister, at 
the American Capital. He was enthusiastically welcomed, 
and encouraged by these demonstrations of popular feeling, 
Genet thought he could easily persuade the American peo- 
ple to embark in the cause of France, notwithstanding 
President Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality re- 
cently issued — despite which he commissioned and fitted 
out privateers from Charleston to cruise against vessels of 
nations then at peace with the United States, and projected 
hostile expeditions against Florida and Louisiana, then 
Colonies of Spain. Privateersmen paraded the streets of 
Charleston with long sabres at their sides, and assumed 
quite an ascendency in our community, and also had a 
rendezvous opened in Charleston for volunteers, which the 
Governor of the State had to order closed in 1793. On the 



Noted Events — Sloop-of -War John Adams. 191 

14th of July in that year, the anniversary of the destruction 
of the Bastille, there was a grand civic pageant, and so great 
was the public enthusiasm that St. Michael's bells were 
chimed and a sa!utc fired by the artillery. These public 
demonstrations were participated in by the most prominent 
officials and citizens, on one occasion including the Gov- 
ernor of the State, Chief Justice, Judges, Chancellors, etc. 
President Washington finally had Minister Genet recalled, 
and the excitement subsided. 

1798. Sloop-of-War Johx Adams.— The European 
complications of this period produced deep feeling in 
Charleston. On the 7th May, 1798, a public meeting was 
held in St. Michael's Church. Resolutions expressing regret 
at the alienation of the French Republic from the United 
States, and the determination of the citizens to upliold the 
United States and assist by voluntary contributions in 
strengthening the sea coast fortifications, were then voted 
unanimously. The amount of $2,250 was raised on the ad- 
journment of the meeting. 

It became necessary that the Federal Union should have 
war ships afloat ; without means fully sufficient to this end, 
the government invited offers for a limited number of ships, 
to be paid for in United States six per cent, stock, and 
offered to accept volunteer ships. When the news reached 
Charleston, a meeting was called on 3d July, 1798, and a 
committee appointed to raise money by subscription among 
the citizens, and on the i ith August succeeding one hundred 
thousand dollars had been secured in cash. There was a 
meeting of citizens in St. Michael's Church to tender to the 
President on loan, according to terms prescribed by Act of 
Congress, a vessel of war of not less than 550 tons, to carry 
twenty-four guns on main deck, of not less calibre than 
nine-pounders ; this sum was raised previous to the meeting. 

This was the origin of the building of the sloop-of-war 
JoJin Adams. The work was undertaken by Mr. Paul Prit- 
chard at his shipyard on Cooper River; Mr. James Marsh, 
Sr., the father of our venerable townsman, James Marsh, was 



192 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

foreman of the work. The keel was laid in November of 
that year, and she was launched on 5th June, 1799. This 
incident is mentioned to show the public spirit of this com- 
munity, their devotion to the Federal Union, and as well 
to exhibit the mechanical skill to design and build a vessel 
of war at a critical time, and the readiness with which the 
large sum of money required was supplied by the citizens. 
From the Navy Department I have a number of interest- 
ing letters from the Hon. Benj. Stoddard, then Secretary of 
the Navy, addressed to the committee of citizens, showing 
the urgent need for the ship, and acknowledging the extra- 
ordinary efforts made for her completion, but I have no 
space for them here. 

1807-12. The Embargo and the War. — President 
Jefferson's administration covers an eventful period in the 
life of our city. The French government, jealous of the 
growing commercial importance of the United States, had 
in 1798 issued a decree forbidding the entrance into any 
French port of any vessel which in any previous voyage 
may have touched at an English port, and declaring good 
prize all vessels having merchandise on board, the produc- 
tion or manufacture of England and her Colonies, whoever 
the owners of the merchandise might be. This was regarded 
as being little short of a declaration of war, and authority 
was given to the American navy to sieze vessels under the 
French fllag which had committed encroachments upon 
American commerce; commercial intercourse between 
France and the United States was suspended, treaties were 
declared to be no longer binding upon the latter, and letters 
of marque and reprisal were authorized. It was in the midst 
of these stirring events that our merchants and mechanics 
built the sloop-of-war "-John AdainsT In 1807 came the 
" English orders in Council," the " Milan decree of Napo- 
leon," and followed by the " Non-intercourse policy of Presi- 
dent Jefferson." When it is recalled that "the transfer of 
flour and grain from the Southern States to the Northern 
and Eastern ports was interdicted," and that " the Northern 



Noted Events — Einbargo and the War. 193 

fisheries were ordered abandoned," vvc get a glimpse of the 
general ruin of the times. The encounter between the 
Leopa7'd diwd Chesapeake near the Capes of Virginia, in June, 
1807, fired the war feeling of the country, and it is not sur- 
prising that the historian of that period should say that the 
excitement was only equalled by that which followed the 
battles of Lexington and Fort Moultrie. On the 1 8th 
June, 1 81 2, after an embargo of sixty days, the United 
States government declared war against England, and in 
December, 18 13, Congress passed further restrictive meas- 
ures, which added greatly to the suffering already existing, 
and increased the complaints of the people ; it was so severe 
as to "interdict the coasting trade between ports in the 
same State, and the fishing business in small craft near the 
coast." Despite the burdens so imposed, the merchants and 
people of Charleston met these disastrous times without 
complaint, and with unequalled fortitude. 

The following quotations will show how the same diffi- 
culties were met with elsewhere: 

"New England was bitterly opposed to the embargo, and 
opposed to the war even to the verge of unpatriotic selfish- 
ness. Smuggling became common, and was engaged in by 
wealthy and respectable men. In this way 13oston became 
a most important centre of trade, and in fact almost the 
sole source of supply of certain classes of foreign goods that 
could not be legally admitted into the country at all." 

"The Federalists found willing listeners when they 
pointed out to a people naturally brave and ready to fight, 
that the injuries inflicted by England were trifling in com- 
parison with the total destruction of trade caused by their 
own government." 

Resistance to the embargo began to crop out on all sides, 
and finally the Legislature of Massachusetts passed resolu- 
tions denouncing the embargo and questioning its consti- 
tutionality. "John Quincy Adams thought treason and 
secession^ were afoot in Boston." 



* A withdfawal or separation, from secedeir, to go aside. There was a body 
of seceders from the Established Church in Scotland, 1733 ; and the first men- 

2o 



1 94 J^^^^ Centennial of Incorporation. 

1819. Monroe's Visit. — Soon after his inauguration, 
James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, visited 
the Southern States to inspect the coast defences and to 
acquaint himself with the people. His popularity caused 
him to be received with civic processions, military escorts, 
and throngs of admiring citizens. He arrived in Charleston 
on Monday, 26th April, 1819, and remained for a week. 
He spent the night previous to his arrival at the mansion 
of Jacob Bond I'On, Esq., in Christ Church Parish, in com- 
pany with Mr. Calhoun, Secretary of War, his lady and 
family; Major-General Thomas Pinckney, Mr. Gouveneur, 
his private Secretary, and Lieutenant Monroe, his nephew. 
The party left Mr. Bond I'On's on Monday morning, after 
breakfasting, and were escorted by Captain Toomer's Caval- 
ry to Gordon & Spring's (since Clement's) Ferry, about five 
miles from the town. Here they embarked on an elegant 
barge, prepared by the City Corporation for their transpor- 
tation, manned by twenty-one members of the Marine 
Society, and steered by their President, Captain Thos. H. 
Jervey. The style of the affair is described as " very supe- 
rior" and "much to the gratification of the President, who 
was pleased to pass a very handsome compliment upon the 
barge and her patriotic crew." On landing they were re- 
ceived by a military escort under Captain Payne, and by 
hundreds of citizens on horseback, whose eagerness to be- 
hold their chief magistrate carried them in attendance. 
Soon after leaving the ferry the party was met by Governor 
Geddes and his entire suite. At the lines had been posted 
a regiment of artillery and the infantry companies under 
General Rutledge. The artillery hailed the President with 
a Federal salute, after which he reviewed the troops. A 
''feu dejoie'' was then fired by the infantry and a second 
salute by the artillery. 

tion of the woidin the United States was in New England about three-quarters 
of a century after. The word has a different meaning, however, according to 
the degree of latitude in which it is used. In one place it is thought highly 
patriotic, in another very wicked. 

" Strange such a difference there should be 
B'twixt tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee." 



Noted Events — Monroe s Visit. 195 

Intendant Daniel Stevens and the Wardens of the city 
occupied the intersection of Meeting and Boundary Streets, 
while the officers of the Cincinnati, Revolution and Seventy- 
six Societies, the National Societies, and an immense con- 
course of citizens, lined both sides of Meeting Street for a 
considerable distance into the city. The President and his 
attendants preceded by the civil authorities, passed through 
the admiring throng of citizens, who welcomed him with 
three hearty cheers. The whole population, it is related, 
seemed to be present, and emulous to honor the President. 
The procession halted at St. Andrew's Hall, in Broad Street, 
where the best taste of the city had " arranged things " for 
the distinguished guests. 

On Monday the President dined with the Governor. The 
forenoon of Tuesday was devoted to receiving the Intendant 
and the City Council and the Society of the Cincinnati. 
Appropriate and affectionate addresses were delivered on 
the part of the citizens and replied to in the same terms by 
the President. At four o'clock in the afternoon the city 
authorities and many citizens assembled at the South Caro- 
lina Hall, where they were joined by President Monroe, Mr. 
Calhoun, Gen'ls Thos. Pinckney and Gaines, the Governor 
and Lieutenant-Governor, the Presidents 0; the Charitable 
Societies and the Foreign Consuls, all of whom proceeded 
to the City Hall, and there dined in becoming style. In- 
tendant Stevens presided, supported by Wm. Drayton, 
Thos. Bennett, Thos. Lee, K. L. Simons and T. VV. Bacot, 
Esqs. 

On Wednesday the President dined with the Cincinnati So- 
ciety after visiting the library and other places of public inter- 
est in the morning, and attended the theatre in the evening. 
Thursday he visited the forts in the harbor, receiving a 
Federal salute of twenty-one guns upon arriving at each ; 
partookof a spread at Fort Johnson, and returned to the city 
at five o'clock in the afternoon. In the evening fire-works 
were attended at the Orphan House grounds. Friday lie 
visited the lines and breakfasted at the villa of J. R. Poinsett, 
Esq., in Cannonsborough. Saturday was spent in receiving 



196 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

the different incorporated societies, dining one hundred and 
fifty guests at his residence and attending a grand concert 
and ball at the South Carolina Hall, given in his honor by 
the St. Cecilia Society. Sunday he attended divine service 
at St. Philip's and the First Presbyterian Churches — the 
Rev. Dr. Gadsden officiating at the former and the Rev. 
Mr. Reid at the latter. 

On Monday, 3d May, he bade adieu to the city. The 
military escorted him to the Charleston Bridge Ferry, where 
he reviewed the troops, and declined a further escort. The 
artillery discharged a farewell salute, and the citizens repeat- 
edly cheered him as he departed. 

At his first election Monroe received one hundred and 
eighty-three and Rufus King thirty-four votes. At his 
second election, but one electoral vote was given against 
him for J. Q. Adams. No one but Washington was ever 
re-elected to the highest office in the land with so near an 
approach to unanimity. 

A full length portrait of President Monroe, painted by S. 
F. B. Morse under resolution of Council adopted in March, 
1 8 19, to commemorate his visit, still adorns our present 
Council Chamber. 

1825. Lafayette's Visit.— On Monday, 14th March, 
1825, Gen. Lafayette visited Charleston, on a tour through 
the Southern and Western States. He had passed through 
the city forty-eight years previously, in company with the 
Baron DeKalb, when as a youth of twenty he landed in 
Carolina to espouse the cause of the American Colonies, 
and to hazard his life in defence of their rights. He now 
came as the guest of the American people, in response to 
the unanimous request of Congress. 

His return, therefore, to our city, at a time when our 
people were peacefully enjoying the civil and political liber- 
ties secured to them by the very rights for which he so ably 
contended, gave rise to a genuine enthusiasm and a feeling 
of profo.ind gratitude. Every preparation was made to wel- 
come him in a becoming manner. Cavalry was dispatched 



Noted Events — Lafayette's Visit. 197 

to meet him at Clement's Ferry on his crossin<j, and escort 
him to the upper Hnes of the city ; here he was received on 
the Meeting Street Road, above Payne's farm, by a special 
guard of honor consisting of the Washington Light Infan- 
try, Capt. W. H. Miller, and the Fusilier Francaise, Capt. 
A. Follin — Capt. Miller giving all orders in French ; a na- 
tional salute was fired by a battery of artillery. He entered 
the city in an open carriage containing His Excellency Gov. 
Manning and his old friend Col. Francis K. Huger. In the 
procession was the Cincinnati Society, among whom were 
the two Gen'ls Pinckney with the surviving officers and sol- 
diers of the revolution, the numerous societies of the city, 
comprising the clergy, the benevolent and patriotic, the 
medical, scientific and literary institutions, the students of 
the college, the seminary, and the children of the private 
and free schools and of the Orphan House — all joined in to 
swell the grand pageantry in honor of the " illustrious visi- 
tor." 

The procession was met at the City Hall by Samuel 
Prioleau, Esq., Intendant of the city, and the City Council. 
The former delivered an address expressive of the joyful 
emotions inspired by the presence of the distinguished 
guest, and of the tribute of gratitude the people desired 
to pay to his virtues. The General responded in earnest 
terms, and the procession was resumed through East Bay 
by South Bay, up Meeting Street and to St. Andrew's Hall, 
the residence appropriated for him by the city authorities. 
Here he received the citizens and the military ; in the after- 
noon he presented to the Seventeenth Regiment, which had 
been formed opposite the residence, a standard prepared by 
the field officers ; in the evening he visited the theatre, 
which was thronged with citizens to behold the " guest of 
the union." 

On Tuesday he received the salutations of the reverend 
clergy, the officers of the militia, judges and gentlemen of 
the bar and many citizens ; after which he visited Gen'ls 
Chas. C. and Thos. Pinckney, Mrs. Shaw, the daughter of 
Gen. Greene, and Mrs. Washington, relict of the late Gen. 



198 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

Wm. Washington. He then attended a public dinner at 
the City Hall given in compliment to him by Council, and 
afterwards a grand display of fire-works at the Orphan House 
enclosure. 

On Wednesday he received at his residence the faculty 
and students of the philosophical and classical seminary, 
with Rt. Rev. Bishop England at their head, also the South 
Carolina Encampment of Knights Templars, dined with the 
Cincinnati Society, and attended a grand ball at the theatre 
in the evening. 

On Thursday he left the city at 12 M. Thousands 
thronged the streets, the military were formed opposite to 
his residence and escorted him to Fitzsimmons' Wharf, 
where he embarked for Savannah, intending to stop at Ed- 
isto and Beaufort. A salute of twenty-four guns was fired 
by the artillery, and he received a national salute from Fort 
Moultrie. 

Every evidence of appreciation that a sensitive people 
could display, our citizens manifested for Gen. Lafayette 
during his stay here, and the late Charles Eraser painted a 
beautiful miniature portrait of him for the City Council, 
which is still preserved in the Council Chamber. 

1832. Nullification. — In 1832-33, the exciting politi- 
cal issue of Nr.llification culminated. Prior to the year 
i8i6, the duties imposed by the Federal government upon 
foreign imports had only been such as were necessary for a 
revenue to discharge the legitimate expenses of government. 
About 1 8 16, however, a system for protecting Northern 
manufactures appeared in the Federal legislation, was pro- 
pagated by various Acts from 1820 to 1828, and under the 
Act of 1832 (to take effect after the discharge of the public 
debt) became clearly the "Settled Policy" of one section of 
the country. 

Starting with seven and one-half per cent, in 1790, the 
duties rose to twenty-five per cent, in 18 16, forty per cent, in 
1824, and fifty, sixty and one hundred per cent, from 1828 
to 1832. 



Noted Events — Nullification. 199 

On 24th November, 1832, the people of the State, as- 
sembled in convention at Columbia, declared and ordained 
"that the several Acts and parts of Acts of the Congress of 
the United States purporting to be laws for the imposing 
of duties and imposts on the importation of foreign com- 
modities, are unauthorized by the Constitution of the United 
States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and 
are null and void and no law, nor binding upon this State, 
its officers or citizens," &c. 

At this distance in time from that eventful period in the 
history of this city and State, when following close the dis- 
cussion of the tariff came the consequences of that discus- 
sion, in the highly wrought feelings which were produced ; 
it is well to consider the moral which it commends. 

Our State and our city were in the highest degree pros- 
perous. Seldom had the material condition of any people 
been more calculated to make them satisfied. The aggres- 
sion, as the imposition of duties was termed, on the rights 
of the cotton-growing States, in so small a degree affected 
their prosperity, that it only became oppressive when rheto- 
rically explained. Yet, as the discussion of the oppression, 
so called proceeded, there came naturally the question of 
the remedy proper to relieve it; and "Nullification, the 
rightful remedy," became the absorbing topic with those 
who advocated and those who denounced it. It involved, 
as now considered apart from the temper of that time, the 
paradox of a State being at one and the same time in and 
out of the Union; a contradiction in itself, warmly insisted 
on by those who denounced it, quite as warmly denied by 
those who maintained it as rightful. But no one who re- 
members aught of that eventful period would wish to see 
again enacted the scenes that marked it. Never in any 
time, not even in the progress of the Revolution of 1776, 
when the sternest passions of men were aroused, did the in- 
tensity of feeling exceed that which prevailed during the 
discussion of the right of the State to nullify within its 
limits the operation of a law which it declared to be uncon- 
stitutional. The division it produced affected all classes 



200 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

and conditions. The high in place and power, and those 
who were not so favored, alike differed and divided. The 
ties of blood could not prevail against the storm of passion, 
and they who should "dwell together in amity," were ar- 
rayed against each other. The bonds which held men 
together in a religious communion were fearfully strained, 
and even the ministers of religion, the "heralds of peace," 
were swept away by the torrent as it rolled on in its over- 
whelming course, and were found in the one or the other 
of the hosts marshalled under the banners on which were 
inscribed the texts of the political faith they professed. 
Happily, as events have proved, however differently con- 
sidered at that time, the spirit and determination of our 
own people were confronted by a spirit and determination 
quite as strong, on his part who then had to speak and act 
for the government of the United States; the issue of 
force seemed inevitable, when, happily, as then consid- 
ered, as it is now and ever will be, the commanding influ- 
ence of the men who were then in the Congress of the 
United States, under the promptings of a patriotism which 
embraced the whole country — the North, the South, the 
East, the West — and respected the honesty of conviction 
which had produced the difficulty of the situation, bravely 
interposed and secured the passage of the "compromise," 
as the legislation was termed, by which peace was once again 
given to all portions of the Union. That peace was an 
honest peace ; there was not in it guile or falsehood. And 
this was so well shown when Clay and Webster and Cal- 
houn, and others only second to them, counselled together 
to avert the impending storm. Seldom in all history is 
there a picture so impressive as is that when Clay flung him- 
self between the combatants, and with the olive branch in 
his hands beat down the swords crossed for combat. And 
of a different style is that other picture, alike impressive, 
when Webster, as chief mourner, brought back to this State 
and in this city to be deposited, the remains of its most hon- 
ored son, and his most formidable rival in the Senate House. 
And to its great credit be it said, in the State and among 



Noted Events — Nullification. 20 i 

its own people there was manifested the same honesty in 
the acceptance of the compromise as that which ended their 
differences. And this was seen when to one* whose capa- 
city and integrity had been acknowledged by his high judi- 
cial position, and whose decision had been adverse to the 
opinion of the majority of the people, by an unanimous 
vote the State gave him the place of its chief magistrate, as 
Governor of the State. To another,f equally conspicuous 
on the same side, it gave him a place in the Senate of the 
State, and afterwards in the Senate of the United States. 
More than all, with the generosity which is ever the attribute 
of true manhood, it sent to him;}; whom it had boldy opposed 
in the Ordinance of Nullification, and whose superior power 
it defied, when that controversy was over, the expression of 
its approbation of his conduct in the trying exigencies 
of the defence of New Orleans. While he not less gene- 
rous or unmindful of the State in which he was born, look- 
ing upon the silver vase which the ladies of this State had 
presented to him because of his victory at New Orleans, 
suggestive at once of his native State and of his high mili- 
tary renown, in the absorbing love of his country, directed 
in his will that this testimonial should be given to that citi- 
zen of this State who was " the most valiant in defence of 
his country." And the legacy was accepted by the gallant 
soldier appointed to receive it in behalf of the State, as a 
memento "of the affection and veneration of the fair ladies 
of his native State for the grand old hero." 

The result of these peace measures was that Congress 
greatly ameliorated the tariff, established a system of ad 
valorem duties, and abandoned the specific duties and mini- 
mums, and distinctly recognized two great principles then 
being contended for, namely: first, that duties were to be 
eventually brought down to the revenue standard ; and, 
secondly, that no more money should be raised than was 
necessary for the economical administration of the govern- 
ment. 

The evil having been remedied, to the extent mentioned 

♦Chancellor David Johnson. tjudge Daniel Elliott Hiiger. ^General Andrew Jackson 

26 



202 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. . 

above, the people of South Carolina, on 15th March, 1833, 
in convention assembled, ordained and declared that the 
ordinance adopted by them on 24th November, 1832, nulli- 
fying the tariff Acts of Congress, would henceforth be 
deemed and held to have no force or effect. 

1846. The Mexican War. — Growing out of the annexa- 
tion of Texas there were disputes with Mexico as to bounda- 
ries, and in the spring of 1846 a slight collision occurred on 
the Rio Grande between General Taylor's army and the 
Mexicans under General Arista. In May, war was declared, 
$10,000,000 appropriated, and 50,000 volunteers called for 
for twelve months service. General Quitiran says: "The 
State of South Carolina, although remote from the theatre of 
war; although not disturbed by the reckless spirit of adven- 
ture which forms so distinguishing a trait of character in the 
pioneer population of new States, yet was thoroughly im- 
bued with the military spirit of a free people." Desirous of 
emulating the chivalry of their sires, her sons demanded a 
place in the volunteer line for their own Palmetto flag. 
They were accepted and received into the service of the 
United States some time in the fall of 1846 under an Act 
authorizing the President to call for twelve months' volun- 
teers, but shortly afterwards the government changed its 
policy, and determined not to receive volunteers for a 
shorter time than during the war. Influenced by patriotism 
and by a high sense of State and personal honor, the regi- 
ment, officers and men, consented to the change of engage- 
ment, and in December were regularly mustered into the 
service "during the war." One of the first, if not the very 
first response, was the CHARLESTON COMPANY, originating 
at the suggestion of Mr. Lewis F. Robertson ; a meeting 
was called at the residence of Wm. Blanding, Esq., in Logan 
Street, about forty persons attended, and at a subsequent 
meeting at Masonic Hall a company was organized with 
Wm. Blanding as captain, A. M. Manigault as first lieutenant, 
L. F. Robertson as second, and Ralph Bell as junior second 
lieutc-nant. The City Council of Charleston provided an 



Noted Evints^.The Mexican War. 



203 



outfit of clothing, &c., and the company entered the regi- 
ment in proper condition for active service, and the value 
of this excellent clothing was proved on the severe campaign 
in Mexico. The following was the roll of "Company F," at 
Vera Cruz, March, 1847, which is "reproduced here to hand 
down to posterity the names of the gallant men who repre- 
sented our city in the Palmetto Regiment : 



Captain, William Blanding.* 
First Lieutenant, A. M. Manigault.* 
Second Lieutenant, L. F. Robertson.* 
Third Lieutenant, Ralph Bell. 
First Sergeant, Jno. D. Walker. 
Second Sergeant, Chas. V. Barbot. 
Third Sergeant, Horatio M. Ripley. 



Fourth Sergeant, Jno. M. Easterby.* 
First Corporal, Wm. L. Wilkie. 
Second Corporal, Thos. B. Merritt. 
Third Corporal, Jno. N. Hicks. 
Fourth Corporal, James F. Quinn,* 
Musician, J. C. Parker. 
Musician, Benj. Miller. 



Axson, Samuel E. 
Alexander, Samuel W. 
Anderson, Charles. 
Braden, Miner L. 
Bencke, Henry. 
Beaurschmidt, Henry. 
Bouise, Jno. 
Bold, Jno. 
Bold, Geo. B. 
Brannaka, Chas. 
Bode, Jno. 
Bradey, Andrew J. 
Brymer, Wm. 
Bender, Wm. J. 
Carsten, Christopher G 
Carsten, Henry. 
Cockran, John. 
Corkle, David W. 
Carr, Thos. G. 
Cameron, Duncan.* 
Campsen, John. 
Cooper, Micajah E. 
Dowling, Daniel J. 
Dunlap, Robert. 
Dukes, Augustus G. 
Duff, Vincent. 
Dickson, Henry S. 



Musician, George Miller. 

PRIVATES. 

Elford, Jarman T. 
Fischer, Stephen. 
Graham, Pat. S. 
Gillison, Wm. D.* 
Gilbert, Ephriam M.* 
Hernandez, James. 
Hitchfeldt, Rudolph. 
Henderson, James M. A. 
Hamner, Horton W. 
Hamner, Harris A. 
Howard, Chas. 
Hartman, Michael K. 
Hyllested, Waldemar. 
Hillerhonlagen, Fred. 
Hilkin, Ortgis. 
Hargrave, Chas. W. 
Jones, Henry W, 
Kennedy, Thos. 
Koefoed, Bertrand S. 
Leitch, Thos. W. 
Levy, Orlando R.* 
McCoUum, Jno. 
Maxcy, Levi. 
Martin, Jno. 
Mackey, Thos. J.* 
Mulkey, Chas. 
Murken, Henry. 
Total 96. 



Mark, Thos. 
Meyer, Glaus. 
McKew, Norton. 
Miott, Jno. R. 
Mowry, Ed. S.* 
Nix, Francis. 
Oswald, Wm. J. 
Pe-ndergrast, Martin. 
Patat, Augustus. 
Parsons, Henry IL 
Pinckney, Roger. 
Purvis, Stephen. 
Pratt, Chas. II. 
Rivers, Constant II.* 
Sanders, John J. 
Smith, James T. L. 
Schroder, H. 
Thayer, T. IL, Jr. 
Vannoy, John H. 
Valentine, Jacob.* 
Verdier, Meade W. 
Vangerlist, John. 
\Vienges, Henry W. 
Weathcrby, James. 
Wright, James D. 
Wagener, John C. 
Williams, Joseph. 



♦Seventeen survivor.s, as far as ascertained. 



204 TJie Centeiuiial of Incorporation. 

On the rolls of the Charleston con"ipany were the names 
of citizens who had been classically educated, professional 
men, business men of standing, and even men of means and 
comfortable expectations — -in fact there were numbers hold- 
ing social positions equal to those of the officers who com- 
manded them. Only the highest motives of patriotism and 
State pride could have stimulated such men to subject them- 
selves voluntarily to the privations, discomforts and toils of 
war, and to the perils and dangers of the battle-field. From 
the day of landing at Vera Cruz to the entry into the City 
of Mexico, there was but one sentiment in the corps — that 
every inan should perish on the field of battle rather than 
the honor of South Carolina should be tarnished ; and the}' 
signally maintained the honor and reputation of the State, 
and " laid on the altar of her renown fresh and brilliant 
wreaths of fame." In the short period of six months, be- 
tween the landing at Vera Cruz in March, 1847, ^n*^ the en- 
trance into the City of Mexico on T4th September, the 
ninety-six men of the Charleston company had been reduc- 
ed below forty. The regiment won great renown in all the 
battles, and Gen. Quitman says " before the smoke had ceas- 
ed to curl over the heads of the brave victors, the Palmetto 
flag, the flag of this gallant regiment, was seen floating over 
the conquered walls — the first American flag \\\\\\\\\ the City 
of Mexico." These facts alone ** furnish pages for comment. 
They stand as lasting monuments which the future historian 
cannot pass without pausing to meditate on, to admire the 
record; they entitle the regiment to add to the palm which 
graces its banner, the motto Pabnani fcrat qui viernity 
The Palmetto Regiment flag, the first to be displayed in 
the City of Mexico, was presented by the City Council of 
Charleston. Upon the return of the remnant of the regi- 
ment, the City Council arranged for a grand public recep- 
tion and dinner, and there are still many who recall the en- 
thusiastic and hearty welcome home, given to the gallant 
survivors. The City Council presented handsome swords 
to each of the commissioned officers, and to each non-com- 
missioner officer and soldier a silver medal. In size it was 



Noted Events — Calhoun's Funeral. 205 

a little less than two and a quarter inches in diameter; on 
the obverse is the seal of the city, and around the outer 
border " Presented by the City of Charleston to tlie Charles- 
ton Company of Volunteers in Mexico;" on the reverse is 
the figure of a soldier displaying the Palmetto flag in the 
City of Mexico; on the outer border: Vera Cruz — -Churu- 
busco — -Chapultepec — Garita de Belin. 

1S50. Calhoun's Funeral. — The funeral obsequies of 
Senator John C. Calhoun were conducted in this city with 
imposing magnificence and impressive solemnity on the 
25th and 26th April, 1850. The remains arrived from 
Washington, where Mr. Calhoun died on 31st March, 1850, 
escorted by a committee from the United States Senate 
and House of Representatives, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the 
Senate, a committee of citizens from Wilmington, N. C, a 
committee of twenty-five from South Carolina, and a sub- 
committee of arrangements. Upon arrival, the remains 
were placed upon a funeral car, drawn by six horses, capari- 
soned in mourning trappings which trailed the ground, and 
was escorted, to the sound of muffled drums, to the Citadel 
Square. Here the body was formally surrendered by the 
Senate Committee to the Chief Executive of the State, 
Governor Whitemarsh B. Seabrook, and by him in turn to 
the Mayor of the city, Hon. T. L. Hutchinson. A funeral 
cortege was then formed, and proceeded down King Street 
to Hasell, through Hasell to Meeting, around White Point, 
up the Bay to Broad Street, thence to the City Hall. Here 
the body was received by the Mayor and Aldermen, and 
deposited within a magnificent catafalque, where it lay in 
state until the next day, under charge of a guard of honor, 
composed of two hundred citizens. Thousands repaired to 
the hall to pay their last tribute to the illustrious dead. 
The next day, 26th April, at early dawn, the bells of the 
city resumed their toll, business remained suspended, and 
a civic procession was formed. The remains were removed 
from the catafalque to St. Philip's Church, which was draped 
in deepest mourning. An anthem was sung by a full choir, 



2o6 



The Centennial of Incorporation. 



the burial services read by Bishop Gadsden, and a funeral 
discourse pronounced by Rev. James W. Miles. The body 
was then borne by the guard of honor to the Western ceme- 
tery of the church and deposited within a structure of ma- 
sonry, raised above the ground and Hned with cedar wood. 

Every organized association voluntarily paraded — the 
civic authorities, the military, the firemen, the masonic and 
odd-fellows lodges, the benevolent societies — everything 
that could add to the mournful pageantry of grief had, by 
its presence, outwardly manifested the inward sorrow of the 
community. 

The funeral cortege was the largest gathering of citizens 
ever seen in Charleston, occupying over two hours in pass- 
ing any one point. Every arrangement for moving so large 
a body of citizens was made and carried out under the 
thoughtful direction of the Hon. A. G. Magrath, as Chief 
Marshal, and his assistants, in co-operation with committees 
of the City Council and citizens. To indicate the extent 
of the arrangements, I reproduce one feature of it — the 
names of the 

Honorary Guard over the Remains of Mr. Calhonn. 
First Watch. Second Watch. Third Watch. 



Jacob Bond I'On. 
James L. Petigiu. 
H. L. Pinckney. 
Judge Gilchrist. 
Daniel E. Huger, Jr. 
Dr. H. Waring. 
H. W. Conner. 
John S. Ashe. 
Maj. Samuel Porcher. 
William J. Grayson. 
D. C. Webb. 
William Dubose. 
William C. Preston. 
James Adger. 
B. F. Hunt. 
Wade Hampton. 
Dr. Jos. Johnson. 
Mitchell King. 
Charles Frascr. 
John Eraser. 



J. H. Read, Sr. 
Elias Vanderhorst. 
R. W. Cogdell. 
John Rutledge. 
Charles Allston. 
Dr. B. Huger. 
James Ferguson. 
Thomas Middleton. 
T. Grange .Simons, Sr. 
Dr. John Bellinger. 
Dunbar Paul. 
George Kinloch. 
William C. Dukes. 
Hon. Judge Rice. 
M. T. Mendenhall. 
Edward Blake. 
H. W. Peronneau. 
Ca[)t. John Bonnell. 
*Wiliiam Kirkwond. 
J. J. McCarter. 



J. S. Rhett. 

A. G. Rose. 

John Heart. 

Rawlins Lowndes. 

J. L. Nowell. 
*William Ravenel. 

William B. Pringle. ' 

J. B. Campbell. 

Edwin P. Starr. 

C. M. Furman. 

W. P. Finley. 

W. G. Simms. 
*H. D. Lesesne. 

Dr. James Moultrie. 

Robert Martin. 

Dr. F. Y. Porcher. 
*James Marsh. 

William P. Lea, Sr. 

Thomas W. Bacot. 

James W. Grey. 



Noted Events — CalJioun' s Funeral. 



207 



Fourth Waich. 
*G. H. Tngrahani. 
*J. R. Pringle. 

Edward B. While. 

John Colcock. 
*Ralph I. Middleloii. 

Thomas A. Coffin. 

W. H. Inglesby. 

Samuel G. Barker. 

Abraham Tobias. 

A. H. Belin. 

R. Q. Pinckney. 

Otis Mills. 

Richard Yeadon, 

George Robertson. 

Langdon Bowie. 

A. Barbot. 

B. F. Porter. 
Ale.xander Gordon. 
S. P. Ripley. 
Thomas Farr Capers. 

Seventh Watch. 
Frederick Shaffer. 
John Bickley. 
*J. H. Honour. 
James Welsman. 
Charles Parker. 
Dr. A. P. Ilayne. 

C. B. Northrop. 
Robert Aid rich. 
W. Y. Paxton. 
B. F. Scott. 
Septimus Sanders. 
B. D. Roper, Jr. 
George B. Locke. 
F. R. Shackelford. 
Joseph Walker. 
Frederick Richards. 
Robert Bee. 
Samuel J. Berger. 
W. P. Shingler. 

T. C. Mitchell. 
The twenty-four names desis 



Fifth Watch. 

W'. R. Babcock. 

T. L. Gourdin. 

George M. Coffin. 

A. II. Brown. 

Joshua Lazarus. 
*J. W. Wilkinson. 

1". M. Cohen. 

J. Y. Stock. 
*\Villiam McBurney. 

Arthur Huger. 
*John Cuningham. 

W. S. King. 

J. M. Caldwell. 

J. L. Patterson. 

F. C. Matthiessen. 

P. H. Tucker. 

Theodore D. Wagner. 

F. S. Holmes. 

Archibald McKenzie. 

John E. Cay. 

Eighth Watch. 
*Alexander Robertson. 

William Mazyck. 
*John S. Bird. 

Dr. P. C. Gaillard. 
*Dr. O. A. White. 

James English. 

M. P. Matheson. 
*C. Williman. 

Wm. Patton. 
*A. R. Taft. 

Joel R. Stephens. 

Henry Trescot. 

George Buist. 

Edward Harleston. 

James Cha|iman. 

Charles Manigaull. 

John Phillips. 
*H. A. Middleton. 

William E. Martin. 

C. H. West, 
nated thus (*) are known to 



Sixth Watch. 
*Thomas P. Smith. 

Henry Horlbeck. 

George W. Cooper. 
*Eilward Barnwell, Jr. 

Jacob Cohen. 

W. B. S. Horry. 

William Bernie. 

(jeorge W. Brown. 

William Lebby. 

J. R. Heriot. 

John Deas. 

E. M. Carey. 

William Lucas. 
*H. P. Walker. 

Thomas L. Wragg. 

R. T. Chisolm. 

George S. Cameron. 

J. D. Yates. 

D. C. Gibson. 

J. W. Brown. 

Ninth Watch. 

Edward R. Laurens. 
*Edward McCrady. 

William Jervey. 

James Lamb. 

Thomas Milliken. 

Jonathan Bryan. 

Frederick Winthro]). 

James Robertson. 

James Macbeth. 
*S. T. Robinson. 

William A. Carson. 
*Dr. T. L. Ogier. 

Dr. T. G. Prioleau. 

William Bell. 
*Dr. D. J. C. Cain. 

Thomas R. Waring. 

R. W. Bacot. 

Dr. Thomas Fayssoux. 



be survivors. 



The great " Defender of the Constitution " on this occa- 
sion received such offices of respect and veneration as had 
never before been witnessed in our State. 



2o8 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

SLAVERY IN PROVINCE, COLONY AND STATE. 

In this connection I desire to record some historical facts 
relative to the appearance, growth, existence and disappear- 
ance of the slave system on this soil. It is now time to 
look at history and preserve it ; without prejudice and with 
unbiassed judgment. A narrative without motive save to 
chronicle the past is now possible. 

The first contact of Europeans with the Indians was 
marked by an act of perfidy. In 1520 Valasquez de Ayllon 
visited the coast of Carolina, at the mouth of the Comba- 
hee River, and held communication with the natives; gain- 
ing their confidence, they visited his ship in large numbers, 
and watching the moment when his decks were most crowd- 
ed, suddenly made sail, carrying two hundred innocent and 
confiding people into captivity; there being at that early 
date a slave market at St. Domingo. Thus the seeds of 
subsequent hostilities were early planted, and in the early 
history of the Colonies slavery was the result of captivity 
in war, and many Indians were then made slaves (see Elli- 
ott's History of New England) to this custom, which was 
the heritage of Greece and Rome, and in later European 
civilization, more brutality was added at times, by the local 
English governors on their soil, as is apparent from the fol- 
ing account :* 

" During the Indian War in Carolina, the Honourable 
Charles Craven, Esq., was Governor, who behaved on all 
occasions, at the Head of the Forces of that Province, 
against the Indians, with signal good conduct, much per- 
sonal Bravery and Gallantry, and it was often thought, that 
if a Man of only ordinary Ability had been Governor, that 
Province would have been destroyed. As soon as this Gen- 
tleman had reduced the Indians, his Affairs calling him to 
England, he left Major Daniel in his stead, before whom an 
Indian Chief, named Turkeycock, of a neighboring nation of 
Indians, accused twelve of the Cussoes (as I remember they 
were called) of having held a correspondence with the Che- 

*Pamphlet. London: 1731. Pages 87, 88 and 89. 



Slavery in Province, Colony and State. 209 

rokecs our Enemies in tlie Time of the late War. The ac- 
cused People were tiien at Charles Town, and, at the com- 
mand of the said Daniel, were sent for, and without being 
heard, put in Irons, and immediately ordered and sent on 
board a sloop for Barbadoes. The Master of the sloop came 
to the Governor to excuse himself from taking any charge 
of those People, who, as he said, were most of them old 
Men, and such as moved his compassion ; that if he were 
inclinable to sell them at Barbadoes according to the Gov- 
ernor's command, they would not fetch enough to pay their 
Passage. The Governor still insisted on his carrying them ; 
but the Master being resolved not to have any fartlier to do 
with them, desired to know where he should send them : 
Upon which the Governor said fiercely, /'// send them; 
whereupon he called Turkeyeoek, and bid him take some of 
his People and kill those Indians on board the sloop ; which 
they did, by cleaving their Skulls with Hatchets, as they sat 
on the Hatches of the sloop, and threw them overboard. 
This was done in an English Town, by comm.'^nd of an 
English Governor; no one who lived at that Time in South 
Carolina is ignorant of this P'act." 

While by some accounts the origin of African slavery in 
America may be traced to the Spaniards, it is well known 
that in 1620 a Dutch ship of state landed African slaves at 
Jamestown, Virginia, and thereby the slave .system was in- 
troduced into several Colonies, among others particularly 
in New York, then under Dutch influence, and where the 
system grew to large proportions; New York eventually be- 
coming a large slave mart. After the fall of the Dutch in- 
fluence in New York, and the domination of the English, 
the system increased rather than diminished, both in 
New York and in other Colonies, the settled policy of 
Great Britain being profit from the slave trade as a source 
of revenue, and that as against the expressed wish and laws 
of most of the Colonies. This is the language of a British 
statesman of the day : 

" To conclude, I am of opinion that this Kingdom gains 
clear profit by our American Colonies yearly, the sum of 
27 



2 10 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

One Million Sterling exclusive of what we get by any Trades 
for Negroes or dry Goods by the Spaniards ; and that in 
and by our Colonies only, we maintain and employ at least 
Eighteen thousand Seamen and Fishermen." 

It was thus the policy of England not to allow the several 
Colonies to enforce their legal enactments preventing or 
modifying the introduction of slaves in the British Colo- 
nies. In the Constitution of the United States, as it was 
first drafted by Jefferson, the British Crown and George III 
was severely denounced for continuance of the slave trade, 
and this was set forth as the principal cause of grievance of 
Colonial America. 

The following was the British tariff of force in Colonial 
days (1775): 

Duty on Slaves. — Indians imported as slaves, each, ^50. 

Negroes or Slaves, four feet two inches or more in height, 
each, ^10. 

Negroes, under four feet two, and above three feet two 
inches, each, ^^5. 

Negroes, under four feet two, and above three feet two 
inches, sucking children excepted, each, £2 los. Negroes 
or slaves from any of His Majesty's plantations in America, 
where such slaves have been for six months or more, unless 
imported by the owners with design to be employed on their 
own account, besides the above £,\o, £^, and £2 los., each 
slave, £^0. 

As an evidence of the feeling against the extension of 
slavery, beyond the protest from Virginia, there is other re- 
markable data. The Continental Association evinces the 
same spirit : 

" We his Majesty's most loyal subjects, the delegates of 
the several Colonies of New Hampshire * * and South 
Carolina deputed to represent them in a Continental Con- 
gress, held in the City of Philadelphia on the ^th day of 
Scpteinber, 1774, avowing our allegiance, &c. * * And 
therefore we do, for ourselves, and the inhabitants of 
the several Colonies whom we represent, firmly agree and 



Slavery in Province, Colony and State. 211 

associate under the sacred ties of virtue, honor, and love of 

our country as follows : 

* * * * * * * 

" II. That we will neither import, nor purchase any slave 
imported after the first day of December next, after which 
time, we will wholly discontinue the slave trade, and will 
neither be concerned in it ourselves, nor will we hire our 
vessels, nor sell our commodities or manufactures to those 
who are concerned in it." 

In the Council of Safety of South Carolina; letter from 
Henry Laurens, President, to the Committee at George- 
town, January loth, 1776: 

" Foreign coffee, sugar, and other foreign commodities 
may undoubtedly be imported and sold in this Colony. 
Except wine from Madeira and the Western Islands, and 
slaves from any place. See Articles i and 2 Continental 
Association, 1774." 

The following extracts from the report of the late Hon. 
J. Johnstone Petigrew to the Legislature of this State in 
1856, states with historical exactness the legislative history 
of this Colony and State upon this topic: 

" In taking leave of this part of the subject, it will not be 
amiss to review cursorily the legislation of South Carolina, 
in reference to the question. The British, having wrested 
the Assiento from the Spaniards, extended greatly their 
commerce with Africa, and enjoyed until 1776, a monopoly 
of supplying the Carolina slave market. After the peace of 
1783, the New Englanders obtained a participation in its 
profits. In the early history of the Colony individuals, 
mostly foreigners, holding high positions under the govern- 
ment, were interested in this traffic, and it flourished greatly, 
the evil effects of which were soon felt, as will be apparent 
from the Statutes enacted. 

"The A.A. of 1698, for the encouragement of the impor- 
tation of white servants, after the following preamble: 
'Whereas, the great number of negroes which have of late, 
been imported into this Colony, may endanger the safety 
thereof, if speedy measures be not taken, and encouragement 



2 1 2 Tlie Centennial of Incorporation. 

given for the importation of white servants' — requires each 
planter to take one white servant for every six negroes, &c. 

"The A. A. of 1712, ' for the more effectual prevention of 
the spreading of contagious disorders' rests upon the fol- 
lowing foundation : ' Whereas, great numbers of the in- 
habitants of this Province have been destroyed by malig- 
nant, contagious diseases, brought here from Africa, and 
other parts of America, &c.' Among those enumerated, 
are plague, spotted fever, Sian distemper and Guinea fever. 

"The A. A. of 1714, after the following preamble: 'And, 
whereas, the number of negroes do extremely increase in 
this Province, and through the afflicting Providence of God, 
the white persons do not proportionably multiply, by reason 
whereof the safety of the said Province is greatly endan- 
gered, for the prevention of which, for the future, &c., &c.,' 
imposes an additional duty of £2 upon every slave over 
twelve years imported ' from any part of Africa.' 

" The A.y\. of 17 16, ' to encourage the importation of white 
servants into this Province,' after the preamble, ' Whereas, 
sad experience hath taught us, that the small number of 
white inhabitants of this Province, is not sufificient to de- 
fend the same, even against our Indian enemies ; and 
whereas, the number of slaves is daily increasing in this 
Province, which may likewise endanger the safety thereof, 
if speedy care be not taken to encourage the importation 
of white servants,' requires planters to take one for every 
ten slaves, &c., &c. 

"The A. A. of 1717, after the preamble 'And, whereas, 
the great importation of negroes rule this Province, in pro- 
portion to the white inhabitants of the same, whereby the 
future safety of this Province will be greatly endangered, 
for the prevention thereof, &c., &c.,' imposes an additional 
duty of £\o, upon every negro slave, ' of any age or condi- 
tion, whatsoever, and from any part of the world.' 

" The A. A. of 1744, ' for the further preventing the spread- 
ing of malignant and contagious disorders' has the follow- 
ing preamble: ' Whereas, it hath been found by experience, 
that since the importation of negroes and slaves from the 



Slavery in Province, Colony and State. 213 

coast of Africa into this Province hath been prohibited, this 
Province in general, and Charleston in particular, hath been 
much more healthy than heretofore it hath been, &c., &c.' 

"The A. A. of 1740. and the A. A. of 175 i, following out the 
Act of 1 7 16, imposes a tax upon the importation of slaves," 
to be devoted to the encouragement of white servants. 

"The A. A. of 1764, after the preamble 'Whereas, the 
importation of negroes equal in number, to what have been 
imported of late years, may prove of the most dangerous 
consequence, in many respects to this Province, and the best 
way to obviate such danger, will be by imposing such ad- 
ditional duty upon them, as may totally prevent the evils,' 
imposes an additional duty of ;!^ioo. 

"The A. A. of 1787, enacts that no negro or other slave 
shall be imported under penalty of forfeiture, unless master 
come in to reside. 

"Another A. A. of 1787, both before the adoption of the 
Federal constitution, enacts 'that any person importing or 
bringing into this State a negro slave, contrary to the Act 
to regulate the recovery of debts, and prohibiting the im- 
portation of negroes, shall, besides the forfeiture of such 
negro or slave, be liable to a penalty of ^100 in addition to 
the forfeiture, in and by said Act prescribed.' 

" The A. A. of 1788 prohibits the importation of negroes 
or other slaves, unless at that time the property of citizens 
of the United States, and within the limits of the United 
States, under pain of forfeiture and i^ioo. 

"The A. A. of 1792, after the preamble 'Whereas, it is 
deemed inexpedient to increase the number of slaves within 
the State in our present circumstances and condition,' pro- 
hibits the importation of slaves from Africa, the West Indies, 
or other places beyond seas, for two years. 

" By A. A. of 1794 extended to 1797. 

"The A. A. of 1796, after the preamble 'Whereas, it ap- 
pears to be highly impolitic to import negroes from Africa, 
or other place beyond seas,' prohibits such importation till 
1799, under pain of forfeiture of the slave and a fine upon 
the captains. 



^14 The Coitcnnial of Incorporation. 

" By A. A. of 1798 extended to 1801. 

"And by A. A. of 1800 extended to 1803. 

" In 1803 all the existing Acts were repealed, and the re- 
striction against importation was confined to South America, 
the West Indies, and the other States of the Confederacy, 
unless, in case of the last, a certificate be filed with the 
Clerk of the Court, ' under the hands of two Magistrates 
and the seal of the Clerk of the Court of the District where 
the said negro or negroes have resided for the last twelve 
months previous to the date of the certificate, that such 
negro or negroes are persons of good character, and have 
not been concerned in any insurrection or rebellion.' 

" It is apparent from this sketch that the injurious tenden- 
cy of the importation of barbarism is not an idea originating 
with Northern abolitionists, and forced upon the reluctant 
South as a stigma; it was recognized in Carolina as far back 
as 1714; nor was it then the creature of sickly and maudlin 
equivocators, who had neither the firmness to give up the 
institution which they deplored and excused, nor to follow 
it to its legitimate deductions. There was no hint of aboli- 
tion, no distrust of slavery ; but these sterling citizens had 
sufificient wisdom to perceive a vast difference between a 
system of civilized and a system of barbarian slavery. The 
great historical Carolinians of 1789 and 1791, many of whom 
were violently opposed to their grant of power to the Fed- 
eral government, never supposed themselves thereb}^ com- 
mitted to an approval of the slave trade, nor thought that 
their condemnation of this latter would be inconsistent with 
fidelity to the institution itself. They were keenly alive to 
the necessity of developing it at home, of keeping it free 
from all foreign impurities. Hence the preambles; hence 
the prohibition of importation from Africa, or even from 
sister States, unless with evidence of good character. The 
restriction against importation from Africa was removed a 
few years previous to 1808, but this was owing to the im- 
possibility of preventing evasion of our laws through the 
want of a State navy, and it was thought better to bring 
them directly from Africa, than receive them through New 



Slavery in Province, Colony and State. 2 1 5 

York as pretended Americans. That the sentiment of the 
State underwent no change is proved by the subsequent 
unanimous vote of her delegation in Congress. It is to the 
wise statesmanship of these men that is owing the present 
felicitous condition of our laboring population. The pro- 
gress of a joint civilization since that time has rendered the 
treatment of slaves throughout the Union nearly the same. 
There is, therefore, no longer any reason for the suspicion 
which formerly existed with respect to negroes from other 
States, and all laws against their importation have been 
repealed. But every day widens the difference between 
the American and the native African slave, and the wisdom 
which counselled the passage of existing laws would im- 
peratively demand their continuance. 

" This sketch discloses moreover that the barbarians them- 
selves were not the only barbarous things introduced by the 
slave trade; it was accompanied by all manner of horrid 
diseases, which were not confined to the City of Charleston 
alone, but spread through the length and breadth of the 
land irrespective of localit)' and climate. The West Indies 
have long labored under this affliction ; certain species of 
maladies, as certain species ot sharks, having followed in the 
wake of the slaves from Bight of Benin to the Bay of Ha- 
vana. 

" It shows, too, that they were not insensible to the neces- 
sity in a military point of view, of maintaining a due pro- 
portion between the dominant and servient races ; the slave 
trade was accompanied by plans for the importation of a 
corresponding number of white servants. The Message 
prefer African slaves to European laborers ; fortunately we 
are not compelled to choose between the two ; our own 
white population increases with sufficient rapidity for the 
slaves we have. But when it is proposed to flood the land 
with barbarians, why is not some plan devised for at least 
retaining our own inhabitants at home? A vast tide has 
distributed throughout the West one hundred and eighty- 
six thousand four hundred and seventy-nine native white 
Carolinians of all classes, whose virtues reflect honor upon 



2i6 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

the land of their birth, but who are no longer devoted to 
her advancement. What means can be devised of prevent- 
ing this evil, it is difficult to say; certainly the importation 
of barbarians will not render South Carolina a more attrac- 
tive residence either to rich or poor, and it would be ques- 
tionable statesmanship, to embrace what the experience of 
history, and particularly our own, has shown to be an evil, 

without providing in advance some antidote." 

* -:v * * * -» * 

" Previous to 1 80S the slave trade was carried on mostly 
by New England men and New England capital, with agen- 
cies established in Charleston, and since that period it has 
a clandestine existence only at the North. No instance can 
be adduced of a native Carolinian being implicated in the 
remotest degree. Our people have manifestly no partiality 
for this commerce, whether from a moral repugnance or 
from a pride that scorns such an occupation, cannot be 
ascertained ; the fact is so." 

From 1804 to 1807, when the slave trade was open, two 
hundred and two vessels brought slaves to Charleston, and 
all these vessels excepting thirteen were owned in the North 
and in Europe — more than one hundred belonged to New 
Englanders. 

While slavery existed, it was defended North and South 
by the same argument. One of the most notable and char- 
acteristic defences of both the African slave trade and the 
institution of domestic slavery was that of Gov. Griswold, 
of Connecticut, in 1795, a revolutionary patriot, the ances- 
tor of a long line of worthy New England governors, judges, 
statesmen, in the States, and in the Federal government up 
to this date. The Bible argument, the betterment of the bar- 
barian, the moral right of one man to hold another in personal 
subjection, are all stated and urged with singular force and 
earnestness by this New England statesman. The same 
theory had been held by divines and thinkers of previous 
generations in all the Colonies. Jonathan Edwards, plan- 
ning in his long rides, his treatise on the " Freedom of the 
Human Will," usually had his negro boy slave riding be- 



Slavery in Province, Colony and State. 217 

hind him ! Such is the contrast, strange though it be, that 
history has for us. 

Of the system of shivery itself it ought to be said, 
that thus upon the soil as an existing social institution 
when in the Revolution the country was born, it passed 
over into the new government as an established part of 
its organic life. It was incorporated into the constitution 
of the United States by the vote of the fathers of the Re- 
public. It was protected by constitutional law, as absolute 
as that establishing and preserving the government itself. 
Whatever we may say or think, and however much North and 
South may both rejoice in the disappearance of the institu- 
tion now, the historic fact is that North and Sfuith founded 
the system as a part of the social system of these States, 
and provided by law for its enforcement and i)crpetuation 
by the laws of Congress. In the North the cjuestion was 
one of comparative insignificance, because of their small 
number of slaves, and because of the almost inappreciable 
effect of their presence upon the industries and social prob- 
lems of those Commonwealths. In the South it was para- 
mount, it involved the labor of a section, and in some States 
the status of more than half the population. By the cli- 
mate, by the special industries, rice, sugar, cotton, &c., and 
by the association and habits of two centuries, the almost 
entire activity and destiny of the Southern States as then 
conceived depended on this institution. It was thus that 
it was without difficulty and without any visible change of 
circumstances, that Vermont freed, without compensation 
to the owners, the seventeen slaves in her borders; that 
other New England States named future days within their 
domains, the owners meanwhile sending nearly all their 
slaves Southward and selling them in other States before 
the day of emancipation came. These acts of abolition 
were therefore mainly accomplished without any price 
being paid, with cheap sentiments of humanity, and with 
no ripple even upon the tide of the life of their States. 
Small as was the effort and ridiculous the sacrifice, as some 
have called it, even under these conditions, slavery was not 
28 



2i8 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

finally abolished in New York till 1827, in New Jersey till 
1846 and in Connecticut till 1848. So deep was the root 
in the soil that even in New England, with its few slaves, 
it lingered fourteen years after Old England had paid twen- 
ty nnillion pounds sterling in 1834 to emancipate eight hun- 
dred thousand slaves in her West Indian dependencies. 

To the Southern States, where it involved industrial and 
social revolution, it perished in the war between the States, 
not as the object of that struggle, but purely as an incident, 
when in the latter part of the war it became a measure of 
military necessity in the invaded States. This is clear from 
President Lincoln's words in his inaugural, March, 1861 : 
" I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with 
the institution of slavery where it exists. I have no lawful 
right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." Sena- 
tor Sumner said in the Senate, 25th February, 1861 : " I 
take this occasion to declare most explicitly that I do not 
think that Congress has any right to interfere with slavery 
in any State." 

After the war was begun, 22d July, 1861, the day after 
the first Manassas was fought, the resolutions of Congress 
declare " that this war is not waged on our part in any 
spirit of oppression or for any purpose of conquest or sub- 
jugation or purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the 
rights of established institutions of those (Confederate) 
States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the 
Constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, 
equality and rights of the several States unimpaired." 

It is clear from the further fact that slavery was abolished 
not by arms or proclamation, but by the constitutional 
amendments in 1866, up to which time slavery existed in 
Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware. 

In disappearing amid the tumult of war and the exhaus- 
tion of twelve States, crippled by long resistance, and the 
waste of invading armies, emancipation came at a time and 
in a way most hard, both for the slave and the owner. It 
afforded the one no means of preparation or adjustment for 
so vast a change, which had previously been enjoyed by the 



Slavery in Province, Colony and State. 219 

Northern owner, and to the other it brought confusion, 
anarch}' and riot as the first experience of his liberty. 
Add to these the misfortune at the time of the factitious 
rule of the stranger on the soil, and the poisoning of the 
mind of the new citizen against his former master and 
future employer, and you have a picture of complete dis- 
ruption and disorganization. 

The price of Southern emancipation was costly indeed, 
and beyond measure, not in money alone, but in the over- 
turning of civilized States. Still, through all this terrible 
experience, the normal and abiding forces on the soil have 
finall}^ asserted themselves, and the moral and intellectual 
dominion of the higher race has eventually established 
social order. Slavery is gone, and the people are grateful 
that it is so; grateful even in memory of the circumstances 
under which it went down. A great and unspeakable bur- 
den of moral responsibility has been lifted from the mind of 
the master. The State under the free system is more boun- 
tiful in the yield of her great products — the fruit of a quick- 
ened individual energy. There is a growing diversity in her 
industries that betokens a higher fonn of material civiliza- 
tion. There is a more widely diffused intelligence among 
her people, and quicker and readier sympathy and concert of 
action. There is more enlightenment of the masses, sfivinor 
to labor in greater degree a skilled hand, and to blind 
muscle direction and purpose. And while many problems 
remain, problems inuninent d.nA fateful, still they are not, in 
my opinion, beyond the solution of wisdom, kindness, mo- 
deration, and the might of our moral manhood. 

It is simple truth to say, that in the half century previ- 
ous to the war between the States, there was a greater bet- 
terment in the condition of Southern slaves than in the con- 
dition of any similar laboring population in the civilized 
world. In this period they were advanced throughout the 
South to more comfortable homes, and in food, clothing and 
daily medical attendance there had been a vast change from 
the early years of the century. Every large plantation, and 
every group of small plantations had its christian chapel at 



220 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

the cost of owners, and Southern missionaries, men with the 
faith and hope of the late gifted and eloquent Bishop Wil- 
liam Capers, carried the gospel to the slaves everywhere 
throughout the South. When the end of the institution 
came, amid the crash of shot and the bursting of hostile 
shells, and sadder to relate, in the glare of burning home- 
steads through hundreds of miles of agricultural regions, 
forty miles wide, where nothing but gaunt chimneys were 
left as landmarks of this unprecedented warfare on helpless 
women and children, and where the Southern slave popula- 
tion largely outnumbered the white, the broad fact is re- 
vealed that universal consideration and kindness was the 
rule on the part of the slaves for the defenceless women and 
children of the South who were sufferers by this needless act 
of war. 

In April, 1869, our gifted townsman,* in a public address, 
said : " Slavery was something more than a contrivance for 
consolidating labor with capital ; it was a discipline for both 
races ; a school for the formation of character. As far as 
slavery and our administration of it are amenable to moral 
judgment, it must be judged by its influence upon the ma- 
turity, and not by its impression upon the pupilage of those 
whom God placed under its restraints. The masters as well 
as the slaves, the whites as well as the blacks, learned many 
noble lessons in life at this discontinued school. Providence 
and forecast for dependents, indulgence for the weak, and 
an habitual consciousness of responsibility upon the part of 
those invested with power; the obligation of honor, the 
force of character, the power of self-reliance, the sanctity of 
individual rights, the elevation of dignity above gain, of 
worth above wealth, were all acquired there, and are char- 
acteristics of which we had a right to be proud, and to 
which we should still tenaciously cling, 

" It is no reproach to our past to say that it had accom- 
plished its allotted days, and that its dissolution was the 
natural process by which vvc have emerged into a new and 



*The South ; an address by W. L. Trenholra, Esq. 



Slavery in Province, Colony and State. 22 1 

larger life. Looking back now upon the dead past of the 
South, we need not blush for it, for its life was vigorous and 
fruitful. It is true that long ago the world condemned 
slavery, but the world has never known it as we have known 
it, and history will yet do us justice, for it must record how 
difTficult its duties were and how faithfully and successfully 
we discharged them. Half a century before the war, when 
the slave trade ceased, the South contained less than a 
million souls of the African race; when the war occurred 
they had increased to upwards of four millions. These four 
million descendants of savages were more orderly and moral 
than the same class in any civilized country, and they re- 
main so up to the present moment, notwithstanding the 
temptations and privations of the war, the license of sudden 
freedom, and the bad advice of political agitators." 

Here, in Charleston, we have endeavored to recognize 
these relations of amity and mutual good ofihces. Our 
people can never forget that the negroes within our limits, 
with few exceptions, have borne themselves with singular 
propriety. In recognition of this, among the largest items 
of our public charities are appropriations for hospitals, medi- 
cal advice, medicines, and provision for old age among 
them ; they share, too, in the discharge of many public 
duties, and I venture nothing in saying that no other sim- 
ilar aggregate of population is as orderly all the year round 
as the colored people of Charleston have shown themselves 
to be for several years past. 

Quoting further from the same address: "It is no new 
thing in modern history for a people to live out more than 
one phase of civilization. The genius of Egyptian labor, 
the grace of Grecian art, the power of Roman law, the honor 
of Mediaeval chivalry, had, indeed, each in turn, flowered 
and passed away, but England, France and Germany have 
perpetually renewed, in changed institutions, the vigor of 
their national life, and it is to modern, and not to ancient 
instances, that we must look for the true type of our own 
civilization." 



232 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

THE COMPROMISE MEASURES AND THEIR REPEAL. 

THE EVENTS LEADING TO DISUNION —CHARLESTON IN 

THE WAR. 

1850-65. The question of the admission of California 
into the Union under a constitution adopted by the people 
of that Territory in 1849 prohibiting slavery, revived the 
agitation of that exciting question, and produced in South 
Carolina what is now known as the " Secession movement," 
which, however, did not meet with public approval. In 
the midst of the consideration of Senator Clay's compromise 
measures (1850) looking to the final settlement of this vexed 
question. Senator Calhoun died ; in July, President Taylor 
died and was succeeded by President Fillmore. Later in 
the year Senator Clay's influence prevailed, and the several 
Acts of compromise were passed by Congress, and the 
whole weight of President Fillmore's administration was 
given to the support of these Statutes. 

The expression of popular approval made in the Presi- 
dential election of 1852, gave promise of quiet to the whole 
country; it is a significant fact that both the Democratic 
and the Whig parties, at their conventions that year, incor- 
porated in their platforms formal declarations of acquies- 
cence in the Acts of 1850, " as a final settlement in principle 
and substance of the subjects to which they relate." The 
popular vote cast for Pierce was 1,601,474; for Scott, 
1,386,578=2,988,052; in opposition, 155,825 votes were cast 
for John P. Hale. And so it appears that in November, 
1852, ninety-five per cent, of the qualified voters of the 
Union confirmed the legislation of 1850, which was intended 
to end forever the slavery agitation, ^xxd. five per cent, dis- 
sented. It was only a short respite — fourteen months after, 
in January, 1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, from the 
Committee on Territories, undertook and successfully car- 
ried through Congress a bill repealing the original Missouri 
compromise, and sweeping away as well the great work 
done in 1850. This measure became a law in 1854, and its 
approval by the President roused to intense excitement the 



The CouiproDiisc Measures and their Repeal. 223 

lately dormant anti-slavery elements, culminating in the 
armed Northern settlement of Kansas and Nebraska to pro- 
hibit slavery, and a counter movement by the South, which 
aimed to plant this institution in a region of ice and snow 
in winter, at a time when the price of negro laborers in the 
Cotton States had advanced to extravagant figures. 

Subsequent events added to the excitement of the times; 
notably the startling raid of John Brown, in Virginia ; 
the whole country, North and South, was profoundly agi- 
tated, and public opinion was reflected in the party conven- 
tions of the spring of i860. These need only to be referred 
to here — the disruption and division of the Democratic 
party under the leadership of Douglas and Breckenridge, 
the nomination of Lincoln, the wide-spread alarm through- 
out the South, and especially in South Carolina, intensified 
by Mr. Lincoln's election ; these events are too recent for 
comment here. The secession of this State on the 20th of 
December, the unexpected event at Fort Moultrie on the 
26th of December, the firing on the Star of the West from 
Morris Island in January, the bombardment of Fort Sum- 
ter in April, the Battle of Manassas in July, and then — 
four years of desperate struggle against fearful odds on sea 
and land. Beyond any human foresight, a series of unex- 
pected events which led directly to the grave issue of war 
happened in this city, and its subsequent successful and 
notable defence for four years has attracted the attention of 
military circles all over the world. It is not my purpose to 
enter into details of those events or of that resistance, but it 
is proper on this occasion to show what response Charleston 
made, not only for its own defence, but for the general cause 
of the South. 



TROOPS FURNISHED BY THE CITY OF CHARLESTON. 

From the receipt of the news of the election of President 
Lincoln, in November, i860, to the surrender and evacua- 
tion of Fort Sumter, 14th April, 1861, the military organ- 
izations of this city comprising the Fourth Brigade, South 



224 The 'Centennial of Incorporation. 

Carolina Militia, were continuously in the service. In fact, 
it was during those early months the only considerable body 
of troops thoroughly organized and disciplined in the State. 
It is proper, therefore, to make a record of this command, 
and show the part taken subsequently by Charleston in the 
war between the States. 

Fourth Brigade, South Carolina Militia. 

Brigadier-General jAMES SiMONS, Commanding. 

First Regiment of Rifles. 

Colonel J. Johnstone Fetigrew. Lieutenant-Colonel J. L. Branch. 
Major Ellison Capers. Adjutant Theodore G. Barker. 

Washington Light Infantry Captain Charles H. Simonton. 

Moultrie Guards. Captain Barnwell W. Palmer. 

German Riflemen Captain Jacob Small. 

Palmetto Riflemen Captain Alexander Melchers. 

Meagher Guards Captain Edward McCrady, Jr. 

Carolina Light Infantry Captain B. Gaillard Pinckney. 

Zouave Cadets Captain Charles E. Chichester. 

Seventeenth RegiiJient of Infantry. 

Colonel John Cuningham. Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. P. .Shingler. 

Major J. Jonathan Lucas. Adjutant Lieut. F. A. Mitchell. 

Charleston Riflemen Captain Joseph Johnson, Jr. 

Irish Volunteers Captain Edward Magrath. 

Cadet Riflemen Captain William S. Elliott. 

Montgomery Guards Captain James Conner. 

Union Light Infantry Captain David Ramsay. 

German Fusiliers Captain Samuel Lord, Jr. 

Palmetto Guards Captain Thos. W. Middleton. 

Sumter Guards Captain Henry C. King. 

Emmet Volunteers Captain P. Grace. 

Calhoun Guards Captain John Eraser. 

First Regiment of A r tiller y. 

Colonel E. H. Locke. Lieut. -Colonel Wilmot G. DeSaussure. 

Major John A. Wagener. Adjutant James Simons, Jr. 

Marion Artillery Captain J. Gadsden King. 

Washington Artillery Captain George H. Walter. 



Charleston Troops for the War. 225 

Lafayette Artillery Captain J. J. Pojie. 

German Artillery — Company A Captain C. Noiliden. 

Company B Captain H. Harms. 

Cavalry. 

Charleston Light Dragoons Captain Henj. linger Riuleclge. 

German Hussars Captain Theodore Cordes. 

Rutledge Mounted Riliemen Captain C. K. Huger. 



Volunteer Corps in the P'^h^e Department. 

Vigilant Rifles Captain Samuel Y. Tu])per. 

Pluenix Rifles Captain Peter C. Gaillard. 

• Etna Rifles Captain E. F. Swecgan. 

Marion Rifles Captain C. B. Sigwald. 



TROOPS "FOR THE WAR." 

With the occupation of Fort Sumter in April, 1861, there 
came the feeUng that we were on the threshold of a great 
war; the militia companies returned to the city, and were 
mustered out of their temporary service, and as the spring 
advanced into early summer, there could be seen marching, 
to and fro, in our streets, those commands " for the war " in 
their ''Jackets of Grey,'' who were to enact, on a broader 
field than ever before, the martial fame and glory of South 
Carolina. As the need arose for more men, other compa- 
nies, battalions and regiments were organized " for the war," 
and so it came that Charleston literally sent to the front her 
last soldier, and contributed to the cause her last dollar. 
On such an occasion we must make record, even though 
brief, of that time, so that when it may be said, that here in 
Charleston the civil war originated, it may also be said that 
Charleston was not wanting in that great emergency, and 
here is the proof. From the best private sources, and with 
no little labor, the following roster of Charleston companies 
is presented, and is as nearly accurate as has been possible 
to make it : 
29 



226 Tlie Centennial of Incorporation. 

Charleston Companies in the Armies of the Con- 
federate States — 1861-65." 

Washington Light Infantry (Three Companies) — 

Company A, Hampton Legion Infantry Captain James Conner. 

Company A, 25th Regiment S, C. V Captain J. M. Carson. 

Company B, " " " Captain E. W, Lloyd. 

German Artillery (Tliree Companies) — 

Light Battery B.f Hampton Legion Captain W. K. Bachman. 

Light Battery A Captain F. W. Wagener. 

Light Battery B Captain F. Melchers. 

Washington Artillery (Two Companies) — 

Light Battery A, Hampton' Legion Captain Stephen D. Lee. 

Light Battery Captain George H. Walter. 

Irish Volunteers (Two Companies) — 

Company K, 1st Regiment S. C. V Captain Edward McCrady, Jr. 

Company H, 27th " " Captain W. H. Ryan. 

Palmetio Guard (Two Companies) — 

Company I, 2d Regiment S. C. V Captain G. B. Cuthbert. 

Light Battery Captain G. L. Buist. 

Gist Guard (Two Companies) — 
Siege Train, Heavy Artillery Captain Charles E. Chichester. 

Zouave Cadkts (Volunteers) — 
Company H, Hampton Legion Infantry Captain L. C. McCord. 

Rutledge Mounted Riflemen (Two Companies) — 
Troop B, 7th Reg't South Carolina Cavalry. . . .Captain W. L. Trenholm. 
Troop G, " " " " " ....Captain L.J.Walker. 

Richardson Guards — 
Company I, ist Regiment S. C. V Captain Charles H. Axson. 

Carolina Light Infantry — 
Company L, ist Regiment S. C. V Captain C. D. Barksdale. 

Brooks Guard — 
Company K, 2d Regiment S. C. V Captain A. B. Rhett. 

Bee Rifles — 
Company A, 23d Regiment S. C. V Captain L. P. Miller. 

Chicora Rifles — 
Company B, 23d Regiment S. C. V Captain T. M. Whilden. 

*I have no means of obtaining an accurate and complete roster of general, field, line and 
staff officers from Charleston in the Confederate service, or of officers and men in the navy, 
and in so important and delicate a matter it would not be proper to attempt an uncertain 
record. This will account for this limited statement, giving only the companies from the city. 

+This company, called the German Volunteers, was raised by the German citizens of 
Charleston, mustered into service for the war as an Infantry company, and subsequently 
transferred to the Light Artillery. 



Charleston Troops for the War. 227 

Johnson Rifles — 
Company C, 23d Regiment S. C. V. . Captain M. V. Bancroft. 

DuRYEA Guards — 
Company D, 23d Regiment S. C. V Captain E. O. Miirden. 

Marion Rifles — 
Company A, 24th Regiment S. C. V Captain C. B. Sigwaid. 

Yeadon Light Infantry — 
Company H, 25th Regiment S. C. V Captain Leroy Hammond. 

Beauregard Light Infantry — 
Company E, 25th Regiment S. C. V Captain N. B. Mazyck. 

Calhoun Guard— 
Company A, 27th Regiment S. C. V Captain F. T. Miles. 

Charleston Light Infantry (Two Companies) — 

Company B, 27th Regiment S. C. V Captain Thomas Y. Simons. 

Company K, " " " Captain William Clarkson. 

Union Light Infantry and German Fusiliers — 
Company E, 27th Regiment S. C. V Captain Samuel Lord, Jr. 

Sumter Guards — 
Company F, 27th Regmient S. C. V Captain Henry C. King. 

Charleston Riflemen — 
Company I, 27th Regiment S. C. V Captain Julius A. Blake. 

Marion Artillery — 
Light Battery Captain E. L. Parker. 

Lafayette Artillery — 
Light Battery Captain J. T. Kanapaux. 

Brooks Flying Artillery — 
Light Battery Captain A. Burnett Rhett. 

Wagner Artillery — 
Light Battery Captain C. E. Kanapaux. 

German Hussars — 
Troop G, 3d Reg't South Carolina Cavalry. . . .Capt. Theo. Cordes. 

Ashley Dragoons — 
Troop H, 3d Reg't South Carolina Cavalry. . . .Captain George C. Ileyward. 

Charleston Light Dragoons — 
Troop K, 4th Reg't South Carolina Cavalry. . . .Captain Benj. Iluger Rutledge, 

Dixie Rangers — 
Troop B, 5th Reg't South Carolina Cavalry. . . .Captain A. B. Mulligan. 

South Carolina Rangers — 
Troop D, 5th Reg't South Carolina Cavalry. . . .Captain R. J. Jeffords. 

WiLLiNGTON Rangers — 
Troop G, 5th Reg't South Carolina Cavalry. . . .Captain W. L. Disher. 



228 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

Total number of Charleston Companies " for the war " : 

Infantry 23 

Artillery 1 1 

Cavalry 8 — 42 

There are no means at this time of stating accurately the 
number of men furnished, but many of these company rolls 
show one hundred and fifty men, some as high as two hun- 
dred; few less than one hundred; add to these the large 
number who went as officers and men into the Confederate 
Navy — as general, field, staff and line officers in the general 
army — many who enlisted in the regular regiments, and 
who formed parts of companies mustered into service from 
other parts of the State, and it is fair to estimate that be- 
tween five and six thousand officers and men represented 
Charleston in the war between the States, and an actual 
enumeration might foot up nearer the larger number than 
the smaller for the four years. 

I have no means of knowing accurately what the sacrifice 
was, in killed and wounded, but I know of many companies 
whose records show thirty per cent, and over in killed, and 
large numbers permanently disabled — " officers and men, 
they were of the very flower of this old city, her young 
hope and fair renown," and it may truthfully be said, that 
Charleston was in mourning from the First Manassas to 
Bentonville — " at every board a vacant chair " ! 

" Where some beneath Virginia hills, 
And some by green Atlantic rills, 
Some by the waters of the West, 
A myriad unknown heroes rest. 

And wc can only dimly guess, 
What worlds of all this world's distress, 
What utter woe, despair and dearth, 
Their fate has brought to many a hearth." 

Sad reflections but precious memories centre here, and 
whatever wc forget, we cannot forget these things. " That 
is a surrender no true man would ask. It is a surrender no 
true man would make, for he could not make it without 
infamy." 



Charleston Troops for the War. 229 

As of Charleston, so is the record for South CaroHna — 
from the whole State about five hundred companies were 
mustered into the Confederate service, representing^ sixty 
thousand men, or twenty per cent, of the white population, 
and one-fifth of these brave men went to their graves, on 
crimson fields, in the hospitals, and on the weary wayside — 
all this at the bidding of the State. The mists of time which 
shrouds all things, is fast destroying the records of those 
four years, and I ask what is being done to tell the story of 
those times? Some patriotic citizens have for years been 
working in the Legislature, to have means provided for 
securing the rolls of South Carolina soldiers. This has 
partly been done, and the present Adjutant-General is 
most earnest in this good work, and he should havQ the co- 
operation of the people in every county for its completion. 
But there is a larger and more imperative duty. As far as 
can be obtained, every command should have its history. 
The thousands of official reports relating to South Carolina 
troops now gathered together in Washington, should be 
copied and published, and such documents in private hands 
should become the property of the State. This requires 
money, fortunately in such small sums annually as not to 
reach the consequence of even an infinitesimal fraction of a 
mill ; but this item of a few thousand dollars, in every ap- 
propriation bill, would be enhanced in value, if it was made 
the first iteiTi by unanimous consent. If it is asked, why 
this expenditure ? I answer, the dead and the living alike 
will be vindicated by placing the truth before their children ; 
all those official records are necessary in the preparation of 
a history of those times — and the State, in whose cause 
these costly sacrifices have been made, should not measure 
a few dollars, as against the priceless possession of a correct 
historic record of the 1860-65 period. 

A most gifted writer in our State said in 1866: "We 
have a sorrowful history to teach our children. We must 
tell them that, in the pride of a strength and wisdom which 
we did not possess, we inaugurated a revolution which we 
could not achieve — that, in the unequal strife, our past 



230 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

power and our future hopes were alike broken in blood. 
Our vindication with them and in history must be, that we 
ventured on this terrible issue in an honest, earnest, unques- 
tioning conviction of the truth, under the solemn obligation 
of our duty to maintain inviolate those principles of consti- 
tutional liberty which we inherited, and that it was no un- 
worthy effort which, at the close of such a war, had cleared 
our great defeat from shame, and given dignity to our dis- 
aster." Nearly two decades have passed since ; for two- 
thirds of that time, South Carolina was "the prostrate 
State" under bayonet and corrupt rule; more recently a 
new government controls, and it should be their high privi- 
lege and sacred duty to so legislate as to supply so keenly 
felt a public want as SOUTH Carolina's War Records 
1860-65. 



CHARLESTOFS HOME DEFENCE. 

armored ships— rifled cannon— projectiles— subma- 
rine TORPEDOES— BLOCKADE RUNNING. 

Armored Vessels of War. — While it is not possible to 
enter into general details of Charleston's part in the war, 
there are some local matters that should have record here. 
Armor-plated ships of war are now afloat under the flags 
of many nations, but I think the first thought of the modern 
iron armor now in use originated in Charleston, with the 
late Col. C. H. Stevens, Twenty-fourth South Carolina Vol- 
unteers, who as a private citizen, in January, 1861, began 
the erection of an iron armored battery of two guns on 
Morris Island, built with heavy yellow pine timber of great 
solidity at an angle of 40°, and faced with bars of railroad 
iron. This battery participated in the bombardment of 
Fort Sumter in April, and as a first experiment proved 
successful. 

When the Norfolk navy yard fell into the possession of 
the Confederate government, later in that year, this armor- 



Armored Vessels of War. 231 

plating of Col. Stevens was applied, for the first time with 
modifications to suit naval purposes, to the hull of the 
frigate Merrimac ; and the encounter between this first 
Confederate armored ship and the turreted ''Monitor,'^ the 
first United States armored ship in Hampton Roads, on the 
9th of March, 1862, was the first naval duel in the world 
between such vessels. I state this to show that the thought 
originated here, and with feeble mechanical resources and 
very limited materials, it was within a very few months 
successfully developed here. Early in 1862, was begun by 
the Confederate government, the first of four iron-clad 
vessels built in this harbor. The design adopted was 
simply to cover the gun-deck with an iron shield at an angle 
of about 32**. 

This first ship was constructed under the direction of 
Commodore D. N. Ingraham, and other officers in the various 
departments of the navy. During the early weeks of this 
construction the question was frequently asked, why does 
the government build only one armored ship? and there 
was great restlessness throughout the community, and a 
general agitation for more ships. It was thought in official 
circles that the mechanical skill, material and supplies 
would not be more than enough for one ship at a time at 
Charleston. 

The general public opinion was, that if three or four 
armored ships could be put afloat, the blockading fleet could 
be kept away from the immediate entrance of the harbor, 
and Charleston would be practically an open port. This 
public opinion was finally recognized, and Mr. James M. 
Eason, two months after the keel of the armored ship " Pal- 
metto State'' had been laid by the Confederate government, 
wasentrusted by the State of South Carolina with the build- 
ing of the second armored ship under the authority of an Act 
of the General Assembly "appropriating $300,000 for con- 
structing marine batteries." This keel was laid in the rear 
of the Postoffice in March, 1862; one hundred and fifty feet 
long, thirty-five feet beain, and twelve feet depth of hold ; 
the armor consisted of two layers of two inch iron-plating 



232 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

secured to backing of heavy timber; every part of the hull 
for five feet below the draught line was so plated, and 
heavily timbered inside. She was propelled by an engine 
thirty inch diameter of cylinder, twenty-six inch stroke, 
driving an eight foot propeller wheel, and about five hundred 
and fifty tons of iron plates were used; her armanent con- 
sisted of two smooth bored guns for round shot and shell, 
and four 32-pounders banded and rifled. She was launched 
five months after the keel was laid, in August, 1862, and was 
commissioned and commanded by Capt. Tucker, Confed- 
erate States Navy, and named the Chicora. As an evidence 
of the difficulties encountered in these times, I quote from 
a letter written by Mr, Eason to the Secretary of the Con- 
federate Navy of date 25th June, 1862 : 

"I will finish my contract in advance if I can obtain the 
iron-plating ; I am without one bar to work on, and beg to 
impress on you the importance of at once ordering me 
supplies from the mills. Mr. Porter told me there was a 
lot in Richmond which could be sent me. The Tredegar 
Iron Works promised to send me some bolt iron if trans- 
portation could be furnished. May I ask the aid of your 
department, &c." As evidence of the earnestness of Mr. 
Eason's efforts I publish here a letter from the Confederate 
States Navy constructor : 

" Charleston, June 20th, 1862. 

Sir — It affords me pleasure to state that the iron-clad gun-boat and ram 
which you are now building for the State Commission of South Carolina, after 
drawings and specifications made by myself, is a good job in all respects, and 
of the very best material. She will compare with the very best of these vessels 
in all respects, and will afford great protection to the harbor of Charleston when 
completed. The work has progressed with great rapidity, and is in advance of 
the two boats of the same class now being built at Wilmington, N. C, also the 
one being built for the Confederate States Navy at this place. The Savannah 
boat I have not yet visited. 

I was much gratified at the appearance of things al)out the ship-yard, and the 
spirit with which everything seemed to move, and can only hope you will soon 
finish her. Yours, respectfully, 

(Signed) JNO. L. TORTER, 

C. S. N. Constructor. 

J. M. Eason, Esq., Suft Gun-boat." 



Armored Vessels of War. 233 

The official action of the "State Marine Battery Commis- 
sion " later in the year, shows the high appreciation in which 
Mr. Eason's mechanical skill and indomitable energy was 
held, by such citizens as Messrs. G. A. Trcnholm, C. M. Fiir- 
man, W. C. Courtney, J. K. Sass and W. B. Heriot, who had 
been elected by the Legislature for this duty. 

"State Makink Battery Commission, ) 
Columbia, S. C, 2(jth November, 1862. j 

Al a meeting; of ihc Cumniissioii held tliis day at tlie ]!ank of Cliarleston, llie 
following lesolulioiis were unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, That the thanks of this Coniniission are justly due, and are lierehy 
eordially tendered to Mr. J. M. Eason, for the i:)ninii)titu<le wilii which he 
undertook the superintendenec of the construction of the iron-clad t^un-iuiat 
" C/iiionr" and the skill, energy and persevering industry manifested by him 
from the commencement to the completion of the work, by which great economy 
has been secured, and the work accomplished for the moderate sum of|263,8(j2.02. 

Resolved, That the sum of three thousand dollars be tendered to Mr. Eason 
by our Chairman, as not more than a just compensation for the sacrifice of his 
private interests while attending to this important public work. 

Extract from the Minutes. 

(Signed) WILLIAM B. HERIOT, 

Secretary." 

" Columbia, S. C, ist Decendjcr, 1S62. 
My Dear Sir — It affords me great pleasure to hanil you the enclosed resolu- 
tions, adopted by the State Marine Battery Commissioners, with a check on the 
Bank of the State of South Carolina for $3,000. 

I know that to you the pecuniary consideration is of small moment, compared 
with the consciousness of having merited the approbation of those witli w hom 
you have been associated. 

Eor my own part, I do not hesitate to say that it is your energy and devolioti 
to duty that Charleston is indebted to the means of defence, which I am sure will 
prove in the hour of need of incalculable importance. 
Assuring you of my high esteem and regard, I remain, 

Yours, sincerely, 
(Signed) J. K. SASS, Cliairiiian. 

J. M. Eason, Esq." 

Mr. Eason, having a complete organization of workmen, 
and having demonstrated his ability in this new ship-build- 
ing, was commissioned to construct a larger vessel, and the 
keel of the " Cliarleston " was laid, one hundred and eighty 
30 



234 T]lc Centennial of Incorporation. 

feet long, thirty-six feet beam and twelve and one-half feet 
depth of hold; propelled by an engine thirty-six inch 
diameter of cylinder, and eight and one-half foot wheel. Six 
hundred tons of iron plates were required to armor her. The 
engine and boiler of this vessel were built entirely at Messrs. 
Eason's shops in Charleston. She was l.iunched, and proved 
to be a splendid ship. The fourth ship was built by the 
Navy Department under contract for the hull by Mr. F. M. 
Jones and the. plating by Messrs. Eason, but had not been 
entirely completed when Charleston was evacuated, and fell 
into the hands of the United States authorities. By order 
of the Confederate military commander the iron-clads '' Pal- 
metto State,'' "'Chicora^' and '■'■Charleston^' were blown up and 
sunk at their anchorage in Cooper River — a sad and melan- 
choly spectacle for those leaving the cit}' in February, 1865. 

Rifled Cannon — Projectiles. — Rifled cannon are a 
comparatively recent invention. After the Crimean war. 
Napoleon III rifled his bronze field guns, and the new 
pieces exhibited great merit at Magenta and Solferino in 
1859, so t^^*^ ''^ ^^'^^ Oflly a year before our war that rifled 
field guns were used in battle. The United States govern- 
ment adopted what was known as the Napoleon gun, and 
some of our city light batteries had guns of this character 
when the State seceded, but we find no record of large rifled 
guns in any of the forts or ships of the United States. The 
armament of Fort Sumter, which was delivered there in 
i860, the latest equipped fort in the United States, had 
nothing but smooth bore guns. Just previous to the attack 
on Fort Sumter in 1861, there was received in Charleston, 
as a gift from Mr. C. K. Prioleau, then residing in Liver- 
pool, a small English rifled gun, known as a " Whitworth 
patent," and a few bolts. 

Rifled cannon were so rare at that date that much im- 
portance was attached to this little gun, and as no supply of 
shot had come with it, these novel projectiles had to be 
hastily supplied, and during the two cays bombardment, 
four hundred of these new projectiles were delivered from 



Submarine Torpedoes. 2^5 

Messrs. Eason's foundry for use with this gun. Soon after 
the evacuation of Fort Sumter, Messrs. Eason prepared 
machinery and begun to riflie a twenty-four-pounder smooth 
bore on the 24th April for the State of South Carolina, one 
of a number of smooth bore guns purchased from the Trede- 
gar Works, Richmond, in 1850. From the time-book I find 
the names of the following machinists doing this work, viz: 
" Lamble, Sigwald, 'Purse, Frieze, Beaufort, Due, Mustard, 
Petsch and Duncan." This gun was mounted on a carriage 
and taken on the South Carolina Railroad, to near Summer- 
ville, for a test, under the auspices of Major Manigault, 
Ordnance Ofificer of the State, and Professors P. F. Stevens 
and E. Capers of the Citadel Academy, on the 6th and 8th 
of June, 1861. As far as could be ascertained, the gun 
promised to be successful. Subsequent experiments were 
made, mostly with different kinds of projectiles weighing 
from thirty-three to fifty-six pounds; this gun burst after 
about one hundred shots had been fired. The result of this 
experiment led to shrinking wrought iron bands around the 
breach, and so entirely successful were these, that rifling and 
banding smooth bore guns of the largest sizes in the harbor 
and elsewhere was undertaken and successfully accomplished. 
Subsequently, machinery was contrived in Charleston by 
Messrs. Eason which could be moved and used to rifle can- 
non in position at distant points. These proved to be long 
range guns of wonderful accuracy and force. 

Submarine Torpedoes.* — The germ of the device of sub- 
aqueous explosions is to be found in floating powder-ves- 
sels, first used at the siege of Antwerp in 1585, and renewed 
at Fort Fisher in 1865 ; so that it is not in any sense a new 
weapon in war. The destruction of the docks at Sebastopol 
by the PVench engineers in 1855, using electricity to fire the 
mines, attracted to this subject universal attention in Europe 
and this country. 

The Federal fleet found torpedoes of the simple contact 
class in Mud River, near Fort Pulaski, in P^ebruary, 1862, 

*The late St. Julien Ravenel, M. D., and Mr. Tlieo. D. Stoney, initiated 
and developed these weapons. 



236 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

but the service was not formally legalized by the Confederate 
Congress until October of that year, when a Torpedo 
Bureau was established at Richmond ; a special corps of 
officers and men was raised and trained for submarine war- 
fare, and great destruction was caused by them in the last 
two years of the war; seven United States iron-clads, eleven 
wooden war vessels, and six army transports were destroyed 
by torpedoes, and many others temporarily disabled. 

The service in Charleston harbor, with the novel boats 
in use, was of the most desperate character ; officers and 
crews staking their lives in every attempt. We have no 
space for more than a brief mention of the fact that three or 
four crews successively lost their lives in experiments by the 
sinking of torpedo boats, and yet volunteer crews were ever 
ready to step aboard these strange craft to renew these efforts. 

Two attempts were made to blow up the new Ironsides, 
one with an improvised torpedo boat, fitted out by Major 
F. D. Lee, Captain Carlin commanding, with the usual crew, 
and Lieutenant Fickling with eight men from Companies 
C, D and F, First Regiment S. C. R. A., volunteering to go 
with rifles to guard against an attack by Federal naval 
barges. The boat proved to be in very bad order, and had 
to be bailed with buckets to keep her afloat ; nevertheless, 
she attempted the task. Upon nearing the new Ironsides 
she was found swinging on the turn of the tide, and the 
blow aimed at her did not take effect. The spar became 
entangled in the anchor chains of the Ironsides, and while 
getting disengaged they were discovered, and made off, and 
this attempt failed. 

Later in the year the torpedo steamer David, built in 
Charleston, with a crew of four volunteers, viz: Lieutenant 
VV. T. Glassel, J. H. Toombs, chief engineer, and James Sul- 
livan, fireman of the gun-boat Chieora, with J. W. Cannon, 
assistant pilot of the gun-boat Palmetto State, left South 
Atlantic Wharf between 6 and 7 P. M. October 7th, 1863. 
The weather being dark and hazy, favored the enterprise. 
The boat with its gallant crew proceeded down the harbor 
until near])' opposite the new Ironsides, when the command 



Siibmariiw Torpedoes. 237 

was given, and she was aimed directly for the ship. The 
next moment they struck the Ironsides and exploded the 
torpedo fifteen feet from the keel on the starboard side. 
An immense volume of water was thrown up, covering the 
little boat, and going down through the smoke stack, enter- 
ing the furnace, and extinguishing the fire. 

Glassel and Toombs jumped overboard to avoid the hail 
of shot and shell which were directed at the little boat, and 
swam to the chains of tiie Ironsides, where they were made 
prisoners. 

Sullivan and Cannon remained in the boat and succeeded 
in re-lighting the fires, and ran the gauntlet of the monitors, 
reaching the city in safety. The Ironsides never fired a shot 
after this affair, being permanently disabled. 

In February, 1864, the iron-clad Housatonie was sunk by a 
torpedo boat twenty-five feet long, shaped like a segar ; built 
of iron boiler plate and provided with a screw wheel ; she 
had no smoke stack, and her deck. was flush with the water; 
projecting from her bow was a fifteen foot spar, with an 
electric torpedo containing a charge of two hundred pounds 
of powder. The little vessel, under Lieut. Dixon, of Mo- 
bile, attacked the: Housatonie ; the explosion was something 
awful, a hole was made in the big ship through which one 
could have led a horse, and the men on her decks were, in 
some cases hurled fifty feet, and in others lifted fifteen feet 
high ; the largest guns were thrown off their carriages and 
beams twelve inches thick were broken off, and in two min- 
utes the Housatonie was at the bottom of the sea, and the 
torpedo boat out of sight. 

I have only made brief and partial reference to a few of 
these noted achievements of our people in their great strug- 
gle. I have shown that with small mechanical appliances, 
with meagre supplies and under every conceivable disability, 
an armor plated battery was used as early as 1861 — that in 
1862 we put afloat armored ships with smooth bore guns, 
rifled and banded — that we largely changed the armaments 
of our forts and batteries, by rifling and banding the newest 
guns of the United States in use in i860 — ^that we perfected 



238 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

projectiles for these new guns, that were effective, to the 
sinking of monitors — ^that in 1863 we built torpedo boats 
of novel construction, and equipped and used them with 
tremendous effect — and so great was the dread of our tor- 
pedoes that the Federal navy never tested those that guard- 
ed the inner harbor, even after Fort Sumter ceased to be an 
artillery post. 

My space forbids all details, but it is due not only to the 
inventive genius of our people, but to their mechanical skill 
and readiness that, although isolated from the outside world 
they achieved results not unworthy of communities with 
ample resources and unlimited mechanical appliances. 

Blockade Running. — A prominent feature of the war 
period was the extensive export and import business con- 
ducted in defiance of the blockade squadron. These ven- 
tures involved large investments of capital, and required 
skill, courage and the best seamanship for success. In a 
publication made some years ago upon information furnish- 
ed by Major Willis to a prominent Western journal, it was 
stated that between two hundred and two hundred and 
fifty "runners" were engaged in this service at Charleston 
and Georgetown, S. C, Wilmington and Smithville, N. C, 
Savannah, Ga., and Galveston, Texas. 

The first outward cargo sent from Charleston through the 
blockade, was the steamship ""Ella IVar/ej'," formerly the 
'' Isade/," with a full cargo of cotton to Nassau, and the first 
inward cargo was by her return voyage. This venture was 
made by Messrs. John Fraser & Co., and its success demon- 
strated the possibility of sending out cotton, to pay for 
arms, ammunition and general supplies. 

Below is given, as far as ascertainable, the name of every 
vessel which ran in or out of Charleston, together with the 
name of the captain and owner. From this list it will be 
seen that an immense capital was invested in the business, 
and to what an extent the Corifederacy was benefitted : 

Names. Owners. Cai'tains. 

Steamer Gordon J. Fraser & Co T.J. Lock wood. 

Steamer Anloiiica J. Fraser & Co L. M. Co.xetter. 



Blockade Rjiniiiiig. 239 

M\!>"'-^- Owners. Cai-tains. 

Steamer Margaret and Jessie J. Fraser & Co K.W.Lockwoof] 

Steamer I'et A. R.Chisolm& others. Foley. 

Steamer Calyjiso Consolidated Co. . . . Black. 

Steamer Ella ai.d Annie Bee Company Carlin. 

Steamer General Moultrie Ravenel & Co H. Tilton. 

Steamer Hattie Collie & Co II. S. Lebhy. 

Steamer Fo.\ J. F"raser i\: Co Brown. 

Steamer Badger J. Fraser & Co D. Mnrtin. 

Steamer Leopard J. Fraser & Co Peck. 

Steamer Lynx J. Fraser & Co E. C. Reid. 

Steamer Presto J. Fraser & Co J. Horsey. 

Steamer Sumter J. Fraser & Co E. C. Reid. 

Steamer Rattlesnake W. G. Crenshaw Vzini. 

Steamer Wm. Lamb ]. Fraser & Co T.J. Lockwood. 

Steamer Hopt J. Fraser & Co Wm. Hammer. 

Steamer Ruby Collie Company A. Swasey. 

Steamer Let Her Be Chicora Company. . . . H. Holgate. 

Steamer Lei Her Rip Chicora Company. . . .A. O. Stone. 

Steamer Republic J. Fraser & Co F. M. Harri>. 

Steamer Nina Ravenel & Co Relyea. 

Steamer Emily Bee Company Egan. 

Steamer Isabel J. Fraser & Co A. Swasey. 

Steamer Elizabeth J. Fraser & Co T.J. Lockwood. 

Steamer Juno (.^ S. Government . . . Porcher. 

Steamer General Whiling .Consolidated Co S. Adkins. 

Steamer Syren Cobia & Co J. [ohnson. 

Steamer Nashville J. Fraser & Co Pegram. 

Steamer Theodora J. Fraser & Co Maffett. 

Steamer Kate J. Fraser & Co T.J. Lockwood. 

Steamer Beauregard J. Fraser & Co H. Holgate. 

Steamer Fanny Bee Company D. Dunning. 

Steamer Alice Bee Company Kennedy. 

Steamer Caroline Bee Company C. Barkley. 

Steamer Dream Collie Company Lockwood. 

Steamer Secret Collie Company I. Davis. 

Steamer Druid Palmetto Company.. .H. Tilton. 

Steamer Emma Hutchin. 

Steamer Raccoon J. Fraser & Co F. M. Harris. 

Steamer Banshee , Collie & Co Speed. 

Steamer Herald Collie & Co Randall. 

Steamer Maryland . Combs. 

Steamer Fannie T. Moore. 

Steamer Brittanic Zachison. 

Steamer Stonewall Jackson Peck. 

Steamer Thistle M. Murray. 

Steamer Julia Cobia Company .Swan. 

Steamer Gem , Cobia Company J. Johnson. 



240 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. 

Names. Owners. Captains. 

Steamer Prince Albert 

Steamer Lillian D. Martin. 

Steamer Columbia Hutchinson. 

Steamer Coquette Coombs. 

Steamer Big Scotia Swan. 

Steamer Little Scotia Swan. 

Steamer Little Hattie '. 

Steamer General Clinch Murphy. 

Steamer Cecile Carlin. 

Steamer Stag D. Vincent. 

Steamer Pearl 

Steamer Florine 

Steamer Stono 

Steamer N imoo 

Steamer Owl C. S. G. W Maflett. 

Steamer Little Ada 

Steamer Jupiter. ... 

Steamer Falcon 

Sailing Ship Emily St. Pierre J. Fraser & Co Wilson. 

Bark Echo, known as Jeff Davis. ...... .Hall & Co Coxetter. 

Bark Etiwan J. Fraser & Co J. vStephens. 

Brig West Indian Arnot. 

Schooner Beauregard . . Hayes. 

Scliooner Sallie ' Lebby. 

Schooner E. Waterman , Hawes. 

Schooner Savannah C, S. Privateer Baker. 

Schooner Dixie T. Moore. 

Schooner Major E. Willis W. M. Hale W. M. Hale. 

Schooner Kent W. M. Hale W. M. Hale. 

Schooner Ben 

Schooner Palmetto A. Swasey. 

Schooner J. W. Ladson Mordecai & Co Stone. 

Schooner Etiwan .... I. Hertz & Co A. O. Stone. 

Sloop Swallow Adams & Willis C. Gould. 

Pilot Boat Petrel Perry and others Perry. 

Pilot Boat Charleston Wm. Hone Wm. Hone. 

Pilot Boat Chicora, afterwards Chace 

Pilot Boat Leitch 

Pilot Boat Pride Street & West T. Bennett. 

Total 67 steamers and 21 sailing vessels — 88. 

The fate of the large proportion of these vessels may be in- 
ferred. Some succumbed to the perils of the deep, some 
were run ashore and wrecked to avoid capture, some became 
prizes to the Federal fleet. It will be seen that some of the 
vessels ran into four different ports, and it may be added that 



Blockade Running. 241 

a number of them made from six to eighteen voyages. It 
was rare that a craft was captured on her first voyages, and 
it could be pretty safely figured that she would make two 
trips and this generally paid for her cost and voyage ex- 
penses and left a handsome sum in addition. 

Among many daring and successful exploits was that of 
the steamship Sumter, Capt. E. C. Reid, with a cargo, con- 
sisting of two Blakely guns, each weighing, with their carri- 
ages, &c., thirty-eight tons — these, with two hundred rounds: 
of ammunition, was all she had aboard — the length of the 
guns necessitated their being loaded in an upright position 
in the hatchways, for a voyage across the Atlantic, and the 
steamer at sea had the appearance of having three smoke 
stacks. Capt. Reid boldly ran her, in broad daylight, through 
the fleet, into Wilmington, N. C, despite a shower of shot 
and shell. These two guns were presented to the Confeder- 
ate government by Messrs. John Fraser & Co. One of these 
enormous guns was mounted at White Point Garden, and 
was never near enough to the enemy to be fired. In Feb- 
ruary, 1865, at the evacuation of the city, it was burst, to 
prevent its falling into the hands of the Federal army, and 
this explosion damaged some of the surrounding property. 
A fragment of this gun, weighing five hundred pounds, is 
lodged now in the rafters of the roof of Gen. Siegling's resi- 
dence on East Battery. 

The Margaret and Jessie, Capt. R. W. Lockwood, was one 
of the most successful "runners" of the war and paid her 
owners ten times over. One night in May, 1863, having a 
very valuable cargo of arms and munitions sadly needed by 
the Confederacy, she laid a straight course for Charleston. 
There were five Federal blockaders off the bar and the 
night was fine. The steamer ran straight in for the fleet, 
and as soon as her character was known every blockader 
opened fire. It was estimated that one hundred and fifty 
shots were fired, some from a distance of less than two 
hundred feet, and yet strange to say the steamer got into 
port without having a man wounded. She was struck in 
five or six places, but with no serious results. 
31 



242 TJie Centennial cf Incorporation. 

On the I ith of November, of the same year, the Margaret 
and Jessie attempted the same bold dodge at Wihnington. 
She was here beset by three blockaders, shot through both 
wheels and hit in a dozen other spots, but managed to turn 
about and get to sea and lead five Federal vessels a chase 
of twenty hours before she was compelled to surrender. 

The steamer Hattie, Capt. H. S. Lebby, was the last runner 
in or out of Charleston. She was a small vessel, Clyde-built, 
furnished with powerful engines, and she made more trips 
than any other vessel engaged in the business. I asked men 
in Charleston who knew all about her to estimate the value 
of the cargoes taken out and brought in by this one vessel, 
and their figures were enormous. On several occasions she 
brought such munitions of war as the Confederacy was in 
pressing need of, and at least three battles were fought 
with munitions for which the Confederates' had waited, and 
which she landed safely in their hands. Plot after plot was 
formed at Nassau to get hold of the Hattie, but none of 
them were successful, She slipped in and out like a phan- 
tom, taking the most desperate risks and being attended by 
a spirit of good luck quite extraordinary. 

The last entrance of the Hattie into Charleston occurred 
one night in February, 1865. The Confederacy was then 
in extremis, and the Federal fleet off Charleston number- 
ed eighteen or twenty sail. It was a starlight night and 
at an early hour that the Hattie crept forward among the 
fleet. She had been freshly painted a blue white, her fires 
made no smoke and not a light was permitted to shine on 
board. With her engines moving slowly, she let the wind 
drive her forward. There were eight or ten vessels outside 
the bar, and as many within. Those outside were success- 
fully passed without an alarm being raised. The Hattie 
ran within three hundred feet of two different blockaders 
without her presence being detected. To the naked eye of 
the look-outs she must have seemed a haze or mist moving 
slowly along. 

The little steamer was quietly approaching the inner line 
of blockaders when a sudden fire was opened on her from a 



Blockade Running. 243 

gun-boat not two hundred feet distant, and the air was at 
the same time filled with rockets to announce the runner's 
presence. At that time the Federals had the whole of 
Morris Island, and Fort Sumter had been so battered to 
pieces that monitors took up their stations almost within 
pistol-shot of it. As soon as the Hattie was discovered she 
was given all steam and headed straight for the channel. 
She ran a terrible gauntlet of shot and shell for ten minutes, 
but escaped untouched. Then came the real peril. Just 
belo\v Sumter, in the narrowest part of the channel, the 
Hattie encountered two barge loads of men stationed there 
on picket. Her extraordinary speed saved her from being 
boarded, but the volleys fired after her wounded two or 
three men and cut three fingers ofif the hand of the pilot 
holding the spokes of the wheel. 

Two hundred yards ahead lay a monitor, and she at once 
opened fire and kept her guns going as long as i\\t Hattie 
could be seen, but not a missile struck. This was marvel- 
ous, considering that the steamer ran so close that she could 
hear the orders given on the monitor. 

Charleston was being bombarded, many of the business 
houses closed, and all could see that the end was drawing 
near. The Hattie was in as much danger lying at the wharf 
as she would be outside, and a cargo was made up for her 
as quickly as possible and she was made ready for her last 
trip. Just before dark the sentinels on Fort Sumter counted 
twenty-six Federal blockaders off Charleston harbor, and yet 
the Hattie coolly made her preparations to run out. Just 
before midnight, with a starlight night and a smooth sea, 
the lucky little craft picked her way through all that fleet 
without being hailed or a gun fired, and she was lying at 
Nassau when the news of Lee's surrender was received. 

The following gives an idea of the magnitude of the busi- 
ness, and a glimpse at the reckless and wasteful manner of 
living in those times: 

" I never expect to see such flush times again in my life," 
said the captain of a successful blockader-runner in speaking 
of Nassau. " Money was almost as plenty as dirt. I have 



244 '^^'-^ Centennial of Incorporation. 

seen a man toss up twenty dollar gold-pieces on 'head or 
tail,' and it would be followed by a score of the ' yellow-boys ' 
in five seconds. There were times when the bank vaults 
would not hold all the. gold, and the coins were dumped 
down by the bushel and guarded by soldiers. Men wagered, 
gambled, drank and seemed crazy to get rid of their money. 
I once saw two captains put up five hundred dollars each on 
the length of a certain porch. Again I saw a wager of eight 
hundred dollars a side as to how many would be at the din- 
ner table of a certain hotel." The Confederates were pay- 
ing the English importers and jobbers at Nassau large prices 
for goods, but these figures of cost were multiplied enor- 
mously in the Confederacy. The price of cotton was not 
increased in the same ratio, and this large difference in val- 
ues between imports and exports gave the enormous profits, 
which induced these ventures. Ten dollars invested in qui- 
nine in Nassau would bring from four hundred dollars to six 
hundred dollars in Charleston. It was come easy go easy. 

As an item of curiosity, indicating the prices of imported 
goods in Confederate currency, I copy the following bill of 
purchases from a blockading company : 

Major E. Willis : 

To HENRY COBIA & CO., Dr. 
1863. 

October 15. For i Box (K) containing 400 doz. Coates' Spool 

Cotton, K^ $12}4 per doz $ 5,000.00 

" 17 Rolls Sole Leather, H. E., W'g 3204 lbs., 

@i $9^ per lb 29,637.00 

•' 5 Rolls Sole Leather, H(W)C, W'g 575;^ lbs., 

(gi $9^ per lb 5.323-37 

" 4 Cases Foolscap Paper, Hi,\V)C, 50 reams 

each — 200 reams, @ $72. . . . . 14,400.00 

" I Case Yellow Envelopes (HF) No. 46, 100 M. 

Envelopes, @ $40 4,000 . 00 

" 3 Cases Steel I'ens, H(\V)C, No. 405 507, 500 

gross each — 1500 gross, (^^$8.50 12,750.00 

" 6 Gross in case, 18 Handles, (gi $35 630.00 

" 40 Do/.. Spades (\V), (^ $180 per doz ... 7,200.00 

$78,940.37 



The Post Btlluvi Period. 245 

THE POST BELLUM PEHIOl). 

lS(>5-77. In April, 1865, the war which for more than four 
years had been waged with such fierce contention between 
the seceding States and the States which insisted on the 
maintenance of the Union, was ended. And Appomattox, 
in Virginia, as the place where the war ended, will be in all 
times as memorable as Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, 
where it began. But what must follow the end of the war; 
what must be the solution of that great problem which was 
then developed; who could tell? The issue involved in 
that war had been decided adversely to the seceding States: 
but the decision had established other matters, and these of 
the gravest kind. Four millions of those who had been 
held in servitude were at once declared free. The Consti- 
tution of the United States had been amended, and in the 
fourteenth Article declared that "All persons born or natu- 
ralized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction 
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State 
wherein they reside." To make this comprehensive declara- 
tion of citizenship effectual, it was necessary to protect it. 
And, therefore, it was declared that " No State shall make 
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or im- 
munities of citizens of the United States." To this was 
added the further declaration that no State shall "deprive 
any person of life, liberty or property, without due process 
of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the 
equal protection of the laws." The Thirteenth Amendment 
had provided that " neither slaver)' nor involuntary servi- 
tude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the part}' 
shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." How 
far these amendments which, as has been said, made a 
"complete change of organic law," could be made, and 
be freed from exception because of a want of conformity 
with the provisions of the Constitution, the Congress of the 
United States proceeded, and successfully, to remedy by 
the Act of 2d March, 1869: which in the preamble recited 



246 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. 

that " no legal State government or adequate protection for 
life or property now exists in the rebel States;" and that 
" peace and good order should be enforced in said States, 
until loyal and republican State governments can be legally 
established." To this end the "said rebel States" were 
divided into " military districts, and made subject to the 
military authority of the United States." And this was to 
be the " law of the land," until " the people of any one of 
the said rebel States shall have formed a constitution 
of government in conformity with the Constitution of the 
United States in all respects, framed by a convention of 
delegates elected by the male citizens of said State twenty- 
one years old and upwards, of whatever race, color or pre- 
vious condition: who have been residents in said State for 
one year previous to the day of such election." This 
should continue until the people of the "said rebel States" 
shall be by law admitted to representation in Congress. 
"Any civil government which may exist therein shall be 
deemed provisional only, and in all respects subject to the 
paramount authority of the United States at any time to 
abolish, modify, control or supersede the same." When the 
"said rebel States," by convention called in the manner 
prescribed, shall have adopted a constitution and the Four- 
teenth Amendment, and that had become part of the Con- 
stitution of the United States, then the senators and repre- 
sentatives shall be admitted to Congress on " their taking 
the oath prescribed by law." 

Under the operation of this Act of Congress, and others 
supplementary thereof, a convention was held in the City 
of Charleston ; which framed the constitution now of force 
and known as the Constitution of 1868 ; and having been sub- 
mitted to and approved by Congress, the State became en- 
titled to its representation in Congress. 

In this rapid narrative of Federal legislation, it is not at 
all within the limits or the purpose of this paper, to make 
on it comment of any kind. It is in what has been, and in 
what will be said, a narrative of events, a statement of facts. 
With the close of actual hostilities and the suspension of 



The Post Bcllum Period. 247 

law in the States, except so far as was permitted by the 
military authority of the United States, a Provisional Gov- 
ernor was appointed by President Johnson, the Courts were 
opened, the Judi^es then in commission proceeded as well as 
they could to discharge their functions; and to the time 
when officers of the State and general gover^iment were 
elected under the Constitution of 1 868, the internal State 
government was subject to the military authority of the 
United States. To speak of a civil government as so ad- 
ministered, is, of course, in itself a contradiction. It was 
aptly declared, " subject to the paramount authority of the 
United States." And if during its continuance, there were 
either no, or few if any, cases of oppression and wrong, it 
must be rather referred to the temper of those who were 
delegated to exercise the power, than any limitation of its 
extent, to any point short of the will of any one, to whom 
it had been given. 

But in 1868 there was inaugurated a new condition in the 
State ; the like of which no one could have anticipated, cer- 
tainly not to the e.xtent to which it was carried : and most 
certainly the like of which can be never, under any circum- 
stances, again presented. 

"The oath prescribed by law," disfranchised almost the 
entire white population of the State, excepting such as by 
an Act of Congress had their disability removed. The op- 
portunity for plunder was eagerly seized by a horde of the 
most unscrupulous adventurers who have ever been known 
in this or any other State. Availing themselves of the cir- 
cumstances as then existing, these " ill-omened birds of 
prey" addressed themselves at once to the prejudices which 
were easily, perhaps naturally, excited with that portion of 
the population who had been recently emancipated : and by 
cunningly devised falsehoods and artful misrepresentations 
of the temper and inclination of the white population of the 
State, endeavored to excite such an enduring hostility as 
would make the two classes committed to a position at war 
with the peace and welfare of both. And it was under the 
influence of such feelings by the votes of those whom they 



248 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

kissed only to betray, that they became possessed of that 
power in the State government ; by the exercise of which 
they proceeded in their career of plunder and rapine to an 
extent that beggars description, and when told almost taxes 
belief. 

Such a career ever works its own overthrow. For eight 
long years the State labored under this, the most grievous 
yoke that could be imposed. The revelations of the wrongs 
done to all at length reached even those who had been the 
victims of the cupidity of others in whom they confided : 
and the people of the State rose in an united and mighty 
effort for their deliverance. The effort was successful, and 
the year 1876, in which this great end was accomplished, 
will ever be well remembered in the history of this State. 

CHARLESTON'S WELCOME TO GOVERNOR HAMPTON. 

18th April, 1877. But as lasting as will be the recollec- 
tion of the year in which our State was restored to those to 
whom it rightfully belonged, so will be the remembrance 
in Charleston of that public reception which she accorded 
to the distinguished citizen under whose wise guidance the 
redemption of the State had been accomplished. 

In the dark hour which preceded the dawn he had con- 
ducted all classes to the full light of day, and had inspired 
all with confidence in his sense of what was right and just, 
and so long as the people of the State rejoice in their rights, 
as restored to them in 1876, the name of Wade Hampton 
will be cherished by them. 

Here, in this city of his birth, his public reception and 
welcome as Governor will be remembered as a red letter 
day, and pass into our local annals to be referred to through 
all time with the public greetings extended to Washington, 
Monroe, Lafayette and the other distinguished visitors to 
our city in the century. 

Nearly one hundred years before. Gov. Mathews accom- 
panied by Gens. Moultrie, Horry, and others, entered our 
city on a memorable occasion, the day on which the evacu- 



Conclusioti. 249 

at'on by the British took phicc ; as we read of the thorou.s[h- 
fares crowded with people, balconies, doors and windows 
filled with the patriotic fair, the aged and the young, wav- 
ing friendly salutations, tendering congratulations, shedding 
tears of joy at their liberation from foreign rule; so on the 
ever memorable i8th April, 1877, Charleston's whole popu- 
lation was abroad, and with hearts throbbing with grateful 
pride gave public expression to their feelings at their escape 
from ignorant and corrupt rule, and sympathetic emotion 
for their great leader. 

" Men had planned and labored for a grand ovation, youths 
had given themselves up to military enthusiasm, fair women 
had worked with eager fingers day and night, children had 
danced with eager glee, and even tottering infants lisped 
' Hooyah f'r Amptoii!'" and the result was that never in 
the history of Charleston had there been a m.ore universal 
public demonstration of joy, nor had any citizen ever receiv- 
ed a more gratifying public greeting. In short, as Charles- 
ton with every attention that hospitality, public and pri- 
vate, could devise, had welcomed Washington in the olden 
time, so with the same deep and glad expressions of popu- 
lar enthusiasm they greeted Hampton who had liberated 
them in the new time. 



CONCLUSION. 

To an extent too great, I fear, for your patience, and an 
incompleteness that is only too evident, when it is measured 
with my theme, I have outlined some of many topics, all of 
which fully developed and written would make up an in- 
structive and glowing history of our city. In conclusion 
let me add a few thoughts suggested by the topic — " the 
sources of population." 

The record shows that this city's life-blood rose in the 
veins of the best race stocks of the modern world. Those 
peoples and races who have made this civilization, and are 
32 



250 The Centennial of Ineorporation. 

now still leading and still developing this new era in the 
Avorld's history, have here their representatives in lineage, 
and they are the dominant and controlling forces in our 
midst. Their bone and flesh and blood are here ; their 
mind and heart and will are here also. This community is 
moulded together of component race elements which, in 
their combined results, form a strong enduring active power 
in political and civil life standing for the highest, and work- 
ing for the best things. Thus it is, that whenever the life, the 
loyalty, the honor or safety of the city has been threatened, 
through the fire and storm of war, and the more desperate 
and fearful trial of anarchial peace, not only has high and 
grand struggle been made, but even in seeming defeat the 
conservative forces have survived all possible disaster, and 
new life has sprung up, on the very scene of ruin, a witness 
to the heritage of moral manhood and mental dominion, 
enduring in her sons, and the unquenchable faith and 
courage and heroism of her leaders. 

In the first years, when small in numbers, the early set- 
tlers stood successfully against the Indian and the Spaniard. 
Fifty years after the first landing they bravely threw off the 
government of the Proprietors and became a Colony of the 
Crown of England. A half century later, Lossingsays: 

" While the people of New England were murmuring 
because of writs of assistance and other grievances, the 
Carolinians were not indifferent listeners, especially those 
upon the seaboard ; and before the Stamp Act lighted the 
flame of general indignation in America, leading men in 
South Carolina were freely discussing the rights and privi- 
leges of each Colony, and saw in day dreams a mighty 
empire stretched along the Atlantic coast from Penobscot 
to the St. Johns. * * When intelligence of the Stamp 
Act came over the sea, the Assembly of South Carolina did 
not wait to consult the opinions of those of other Colonies, 
but immediately passed a series of condemnatory resolves." 

The closing of the port of Boston, by Act of Parliament, 
on the 1st of January, 1774, aroused the indignation and 
sympathy of the South Carolinians, and substantial aid was 



Conclusion. 251 

freely sent to tlie suffering inhabitants of that city. When 
the proposition for a General Congress went forth, the af- 
firmative voice of South Carolina was among the first heard 
in response. They effectually resisted the Stamp Act, 
when three companies of city infantry, under Marion, 
Pirickney and Elliott, marched to Lamboll's l^ridgc, em- 
barked for James Island, surprised and captured Fort John- 
son, and caused the stamp-paper to be reshippcd to England. 
They resisted the three-penny tax on tea, by throwing the 
tea overboard ivithout disguise, and that which had been 
landed and stored went to slow decay through long years of 
neglect, but was never drank. 

" During the struggle for independence, South Carolina 
was given up to plunder and bloodshed ; the war here was 
marked by a degree of barbarity which had no parallel in 
the Eastern or Middle States, except in the small plunder- 
ing expeditions in the neighborhood of New York. Prevost's 
soldiers carried on this barbarous style of warfare, and the 
marks of their plundering were visible in every house on the 
islands they had occupied near Charleston." 

The prison ship and the crowded fever-stricken dungeon 
did not suppress the spirit of liberty in this city, nor did the 
victor's torch effect any change in the surrounding countr}-. 

In the closing years of the last century, when the Federal 
government was without money and without credit, our 
citizens, headed by Crafts, Morris, Tunno, Cross, Gilchrist, 
Hazlehurst, Russell, and many other merchants, advanced 
over one hundred thousand dollars in cash, and Messrs. 
Pritchard and Marsh, representative Charleston mechanics, 
built the sloop-of-war Jolui Adams for the defence of the 
Union. The Non-Intercourse and Embargo Acts were ob- 
served with the strictest fidelity here, though the commu- 
nity was equally divided on this issue, which brought deso- 
lation to nearly all our homes, while elsewhere plenty was 
enjoyed by violating the law. 

War was declared against Great Britain in Washington 
on the 18th June, 18 12. On the 24th August, Governor 
Middleton, of South Carolina, reported to an extra session 



252 Tlie Centennial of Incorporation. 

of the Legislature that the State's quota of five thousand 
troops had been organized with expedition, and was com- 
posed principally of volunteers. In many cases the draft 
was resorted to, only to decide who should be accepted as 
part of the quota, in some instances officers who could not 
obtain commands volunteered as privates. 

On the 22d December, 1814, Governor D. R. Williams 
notified the Secretary of the Treasury that the Legislature, 
having been informed the day before that the Federal offi- 
cers in this State were without money, had that evening 
placed the amount necessary, two hundred and sixty thou- 
sand dollars, to their credit in the Bank of South Carolina, 
that being the State's estimated proportion of the direct 
tax about to be laid by Congress. 

As in the war of 1 812-15 so in the Mexican war, the men 
of Charleston were not wanting in duty to flag and to 
country; of the ninety-six Charleston volunteers who land- 
ed at Vera Cruz, less than forty entered the Halls of the 
Montezumas six months after. In more recent years, " in 
obedience to a sentiment of honor and the call of duty, and 
in pledge of their sincerity," thousands from Charleston 
went forth to do the bidding of South Carolina, and hun- 
dreds "made the last human sacrifice and laid down their 
lives on the battle-fields of the Confederacy." And in the 
defence of this city, against the gigantic efforts made to 
capture it, what a record of heroism, of patient endurance 
for four desolating years, does Charleston present! Amid 
the ruins of Fort Sumter men stood for many months with 
only rifles in their hands, with the arsenals and heavy ord- 
nance of the world in use by the besiegers — on the Islands 
every foot of barren sand was contested, and when before 
overwhelming numbers, and the heaviest guns by sea and 
land, and then not until the picks and spades of the Miners 
and Sappers had penetrated into the walls of Battery Wag- 
ner* was Morris Island given up ; what is the testimony of 



♦Battery Wagnkr. — About one ihousaml yards Southeast of Cummings' 
Point, an earth-work was projected in September, i86'2, as an outpost of Kort 
Suniler, under llie trueelioii of Capt. Laiigilun Clieves, Confederate States En- 



Conclusion. 253 

the victorious general, whose military skill, persistency and 
unlimited resources, in men and material, had achieved its 
possession? General Gilmore says of this fort of sand : 
" Fort Wagner was found to be a work of the most 
formidable character — far more so, indeed, than the most 
exaggerated statements of prisoners and deserters had led 
us to expect. Its bomb-proof shelter, capable of containing 
fifteen hundred or sixteen hundred men, remained perfectly 
intact, after one of the most severe bombardments to which 
any earth-work was ever exposed." 

AH around the circuit of our city are historic places — for 
four years, Sullivan's Island, Morris Island, James Island 
and Fort Sumter were reverberating with the roar of heavy 
cannon, and the historian when he comes to write of our 
memorable defence will exclaim — 

" Never on earthly anvil 
Did such rare armour gleam." 

As comes the bourgeoning of the tree from the secret 
force that' fills its veins, so must it ever be with us of 
Charleston as long as the life-blood that flowed in the veins 
of those gone before continues to warm the heart of the 
city we so love and cherish and guard. Such relation to a 



gineer. The original plan covered the width of the Island from high water 
to high water, enclosing an acre and a half of ground. Three hundred yards 
in front of the work a canal was to have been cut, and the action of the sea 
was expected to make it too deep for fording, and, certainly, would prevent 
approach by sap and mine ; the canal was never cut, and the fort was at last 
taken by regular approach. Negro labor was first used in its construction, but 
these were finally withdrawn by owners on account of exposure to the enemy. 
These were succeeded by the Gist Guard Artillery and Matthews' Artillery, 
who, while they worked, were niany_times under fire. It was scarcely comple- 
ted when the bombardment and attack commenced July roth, 1863, at which 
time its armament consisted of one rifled and banded 32 -pounder, five smooth 
bore 32-pounders on siege carriages, one 8-inch columbiad and one lo-inch 
columbiad, and two brass howitzers. Connected with the work was a bomb- 
proof shelter capable of protecting an infantry garrison of six hundred men, 
also secure magazines. The two companies already named, under Capt. J. K. 
Matthews and Lieut. R. C. Gilchrist, formed during the siege from loth July 
to 7th September, with brief intervals of relief, the regular artillery garrison — 
Capt. C. E. Chichester acting as Chief of Artillery. 



254 T^l'-'^ Centennial of Incorporatioii. 

past ennobles this transient and vanishing life ; such a power 
of influence on the future is the suprennest terrestial privi- 
lege. 

In a spirit worthy of such memories, let us as citizens 
consecrate ourselves to those further duties which wa't to 
be fulfilled, and so discharge them that, as the years roll by, 
our city may expand to higher honors and a larger useful- 
ness. With memories of the joys and sorrows of an event- 
ful past, standing on the threshold of a new century, with 
hope elate and purpose high, join me in saying with the 
poet : 

" Oh ! checkered train of years farewell, 

With all thy strifes and hopes and fears, 
But with us let thy memories dwell, 

To warm and teach the coming years. 

And thou, the new beginning age, 
Warned by the past, and not in vain, 

Write on a fairer, whiter page. 

The record of thy happier reign." 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. 

At a regular meeting of the City Council, held on Sep- 
tember nth, 1883, Alderman Dingle, chairman of the 
special committee on the Centennial, submitted the follow- 
ing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted: 

Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are due and hereby tendered 
to the Rev. John Johnson, Rector of St. Philip's Church, for his services as 
chaplain of the day on the recent Centenmal occasion. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are due and hereby tendered 
to Middleton Michel, M. U., for his acceptable reading of the Centennial Odes 
at the recent celebration. 

Resolved, That the City Council of Charleston request that Mr. Paul IT. 
Ilayne. the poet-son, son o( our city, accept their sincere congratulations and 
heartfelt thanks for the high tril)Utc of his genius to the celebration of the City's 
Centennial, and that a Centennial Medal of gold, suitably mounted and in- 
scribed, be prepared for him as a token of their regard and esteem. 



Proceedings of City Council. 255 

Filled with fcrveiU love of her and her past, and hopefui of her brightly 
dawning future, painting her sore trials, her dire distress, her grand struggles 
and grander triumphs, and in the inspiring words of his mission and his art, as 
a teacher of his fellow-nian, summoning us, as he cheers us, to a larger destiny, 
his words have come to us as the awakening of mighty memory and the vision 
of brave hopes realized. 

We thank him fervently for his auspicious greeting, for the truth, the glad- 
ness, the majesty and power of his noble ode. 

Whereas, througli the good offices of the Hon. A. London Snouclen, director 
of the United States Mint, at Philadelphia, the City Council of Charleston has 
been able to add to the commemoration of their recent Centennial celebration 
a beautiful medal in the highest .style of numismatic art. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are eminently due and are 
hereby tendered to Mr. Snowden for this very acceptable service, which is 
highly appreciated. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are tlue and hereby tendered 
to Mrs. Mary M. Hutson for the kindly loan at the recent Centennial celebra- 
tion of the portrait of Chancellor Richard Hutson, the first Intendant of the 
city. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are due and are herel)y ten- 
dered to the officers and members of the German Artillery and the 1-afayetlc 
-Vrlillery for their prompt res|H)iise to our re(|uesl to lire the Centennial salute 
of one hundred guns on the occasion of the recent celebration, and that a copy 
of this resolution, suitably engrossed, be jjrepared and forwarded to Cajitain 
Wagener and Captain Mantoue. 

So ordered. 

Alderman Dingle then moved that the Mayor be re- 
quested to vacate the chair. Adopted. 

On motion Alderman Sweegan was asked to preside. 
Alderman Dingle then presented the following resolutions : 

Whereas, on the occasion of the Centennial celebration of our city, his Honor 
the Mayor presented to the City of Charleston a marble bust of James L. 
I'etigru, now adorning this chamber, the satisfying and noble product of the 
genius and faithful labor of the sculptor Harnisch : 

And, whereas, this tribute of perpetual commemoration of our city's great 
jurist, orator and fearless citizen is the worthiest homage we can pay to the 
illustrious dead, as well as the truest and wisest lesson we can teach to the 
living. 

Be it resolved. That the City Council, in behalf of the citizens of Charleston, 
in accepting this munificent gift, recalling in its vivid power so truly the great 



256 The Centennial of Incorporation. 

man who is gone, extend their heartiest thanks to his Honor the Mayor both 
for the generous thought that prompted this enduring testimonial to his fellow- 
citizens, and also for the high and instructive way he has so happily chosen to 
mark by so eloquent a gift his thought of and his feeling for his people. 

Unanimously adopted. 

Alderman Dingle then presented the accompanying reso- 
lutions : 

Whereas, in fulfilling the request of this body to deliver the oration upon the 
Centennial of the City of Charleston his Honor the Mayor has reviewed most 
faithfully, instructively and eloquently the history of this city from its earliest 
settlement, and amid the duties of an active administration has, in marked zeal 
and industry, found time to examine into the sources of our history and the 
progress of our civic life, and in his vivid outlines revealing and suggesting the 
wider fields for and the larger results of the study, the writing and the preserva- 
tion of her municipal past, be it 

Resolved, That the City Council of Charleston would express their heartfelt 
gratification at this most valuable and instructive address, and that they join 
with his Honor the Mayor in the hope that the history of this city may soon 
be rescued, fully written and thus preserved for ourselves and posterity. 

Resolved, That his Honor the Mayor be requested to furnish a copy of his 
Centennial address, unabridged, for publication. 

Unanimously adopted. 

Alderman A. Johnson offered the following resolution : 

Resolved, That a Centennial Medal in gold, suitably mounted and inscribed, 
be presented to his Honor the Mayor, as an acknowledgment from the City 
Council for his Centennial address. 

Unanimously adopted. 

Mayor Courtcnay was then escorted to the hall by Alder- 
men Rodgers and Barkley, who had been appointed a com- 
mittee for that puroose, and the resolutions were communi- 
cated to him by the acting Mayor. 

The Mayor, who was visibly affected during the reading 
of the resolutions, spoke as follows: 

Gentlemen of Council — The service that I have been able to render in 
preparing the address on the occasion of the Centennial was congenial to me, 



Proceedings of City Council. 257 

as I have for many years taken a great interest in this attractive subject, and I 
only trust it will be the means of leading to a more thorough research and to 
the preparation and perpetuation of our corporate history. 

In presenting the bust of James L. Petigru to the city, it is proper that I 
should say that when I ordered it I had intended to make its presentation the 
occasion of announcing to you that I desired to retire from the mayoralty at the 
end of my term, in December. 1 wished at the same time to celebrate in a 
permanent form the virtues of a prominent citizen, who, although for many 
years in a minority, was ever appreciated by his fellow-citizens, and has left us 
the record of a long life of honor and patriotism. I hardly know how to thank 
you, gentlemen of Council, for your uniform kindness to me during all these 
long years we have served together. We have had differences of opinion, it is 
true, but I am happy to state that our personal relations have been and are of 
the most pleasant character. For this expression of kind feeling I beg, in all 
sincerity, to express my warmest thanks. 



At the regular meeting of the City Council, held on the 
evening of October i6th, 1883, ^'^^ following letters were 
read and received as information : 

"Copse Hall," Georgia, \ 
October 15th, 1883. f 

1 the Honorable the Mayor and City Council of Charleston, S. C. : 

Gentlemen — I acknowledge the receipt of your " Resolutions" of the r3th 
.inst., in relation to my " Centennial Poem" — " Resolutions," the earnest feel- 
ing and eloquence of which have profoundly moved me ! 

Accept, at the same lime, my appreciative thanks for the superb gold medal 
accompanying them. 

As a token of regard from my native place I must ahuays value it, associating 
its purity and brightness with the pure lustre of many memories — memories of 
boyhood, and youth, and early manhood indissolubly connected with our "fair 
City by the Sea." 

Nor can I ever forget the gracious manner in which it has been presented ! 

Not in vain, then, has your Poet toiled, and sometimes, in exile, suffered ! 

The hope grows strong within him that when this hand is dust he may yet 
survive (so long as God willeth) in the hearts of his fellow-citizens. 

Virgil half mournfully, half ironically inquires, " Cincres credis curare sepultos ? " 

At all events, to a man while living, hope of some fragrant post-mortem re- 
membrance, especially in the place of one's birth, is beyond measure, consoling ! 
I am, gentlemen, gratefully and respectfully yours, 

PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE. 

33 



25S The Centennial of Incorporation. 

The Mayor stated that he desired to return his acknowl- 
edi,iTient for the medal presented to him. 

Mint of the United States, at Philadelphia, Pa., ) 

, Superintendent's Office, >■ 

October 15th, 1883. ) 

My Dear Sir— I have to acknowledge, through your courtesy, the receipt 
of a beautifully-engrossed copy of resolutions adopted by the Council of the 
City of Charleston, expressing thanks for services rendered by me in connection 
with your Centennial celebration. 

I am honored by the action of your city authorities, and, in expressing my 
thanks for the same, can only regret that my services were not of a more im- 
portant character. 

I beg you will convey to his Honor the Mayor and to the members of the 
Council my high appreciation of the honor conferred upon me. 

Trusting that your beautiful city may continue to make progress in all that 
appertains to the happiness of her people, the honor of her name and the wel- 
fare of our common country. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

A. LOUDON SNOWDEN. 
G. W. Dinglk, Esq., 61 Broad Street, Charleston, S. C. 

Council then adjourned. 

W. VV. SIMONS. 

Clerk of Council. 



THE CENTEMIAL MEDAL. 

The City Council of Charleston arranged with Mr. Snow- 
den, the courteous and obliging director of the United 
States Mint at Philadelphia, for a memorial medal ; its 
size and inscription are fully illustrated at page 2. The 
issue comprises two in gold, twenty-one in silver (for the Al- 
dermen serving at that time) and two hundred in bronze — 
total, two hundred and twenty-three. 

The medals were mounted in handsome morocco cases, 
and copies in bronze were presented to Gov. H. S. Thomp- 
son, Lieut.-Gov. J. C. Shepherd, Mr. Speaker James Simons, 
and Attorney-General Ch. Richardson Miles, who represent- 



The Centennial Medal. 259 

ed the State at the ceremonies — to ex-Mayors T. L. Hutch- 
inson, W. Porcher Miles, P. C. Gaillard, G. I. Cunningham, 
and W. W. Sale— to Mrs. Hannah Ensto.i, Mrs. John A. 
Wagener; VV. Noel Sainsbury, Record Office, London; 
John Stolle Artist, of Dresden ; Ed. V. Valentine, Sculptor, 
Richmond, Va. ; Rev. John Johnson, Chaplain of the day; 
Middleton Michel, M. D., Reader; to Recorder Pringle and 
the officers of the City Court ; to the Commissioners of the 
Public Institutions of the City, and the chief City Officials. 
The two gold medals were voted by special resolve of the 
City Council, to the Poet and Orator of the day. Quite a 
number of bronze medals were subscribed and paid for by 
private citizens, in and out of the city. The dies, which are 
very fine specimens of numismatic art, remain for safe keep- 
ing at the United States Mint, Philadelphia. 



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